Fantasy Unleashed: Book 0
by Xamusel - Gamma 11
Summary: What if a second Kyuubi made an appearance in the Konoha area the night Kurama attacked the village? How would this affect the whole of Konoha... no, more like, how would this affect the whole of the multiverse? Rated M for future content... and, yes, canon is thrown out the window here.
1. Pilot

**Fantasy Unleashed**

_Story written by Xamusel and AstralXYZ_

Disclaimer: Astral and I don't own jack about this except our own characters. Sorry to disappoint (not).

**Xamusel: Okay, this should easily be the last time this story goes under rewrite status, before it is otherwise scrapped. If, for whatever reason, it needs to be rewritten… well, not with me as the main author, then. I ****_might_**** help out with the newer rewrite at some point… but that's not likely.**

**In any case… on with the story!**

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Book 0<em>**

**_Prologue Arc_**

**_Pilot_**

**_Change a Variable, Change the Story_**

* * *

><p><span><em>Ten years ago… a Kyuubi no Youko suddenly appeared! Its tails lashed out, crushing mountains, and sending shockwaves across the land! Each ninja rose up to defend their villages!<em>

"Hold the attack and _wait_ for Yondaime Hokage-sama!" a bloodied ninja cried out, before he jumped forward to engage the fox in battle.

"It's getting closer! Don't let it get near the village!" another bloodied ninja shouted, throwing a kunai in the process of talking.

Before long, however, the fox started charging a ball of malevolent energy in its mouth and attempted to aim it at the village of Konoha itself. It looked as if the doom of the village was inevitable…

***CRASH!***

…when the Yondaime, a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes, showed up atop of his friend in the Toad Summons, Gamabunta, who landed on top of the fox and toppled it to the ground. The Yondaime, Namikaze Minato, looked around the area, more specifically at the fox, as a memory replayed through his mind.

_Minato was on top of the Hokage Monument, overlooking the ensuing carnage caused by one man and a giant fox that was under his control, even as he thought, _'I have to warn Hiruzen-ossan about what happened!'_ Before he attempted to go off to find his predecessor, however, a masked man wearing a hood showed up from behind and attempted to grab him by the neck._

_Minato held one of his three-pronged kunai in hand and attempted to spear the man through the side of the head, only for the kunai and the hand holding it to phase right through the head, and out the other side of the body! With his hand going through the body, it seemed like an opened hand would just let the kunai ghost through—_

_"__I've got you right where I want you now, Yondaime Hokage!" the masked man got out._

_—__only for the man to have grabbed his kunai hand and forced him into the unfavorable position of being vulnerable to an attack._

_Before the attack could come, however, Minato quickly activated his Hiraishin and carried the two of them over to the abandoned clearing where they had started their fight moments before. With Minato some distance away from his masked foe, he started closing the distance between them, hoping to defeat the man before any further damage could be done to the village that was his home._

_"__Now I can fight without worrying about collateral damage!" Minato roared, slashing at the masked figure. As expected, the attack phased right through, so he followed up with another slash, trying to figure out what made his technique tick._

_When the attack had no effect, his opponent immediately attempted to grab him again, but Minato stepped backwards, luring him in before he performed a backflip combined with a kick, lashing out at the other man's midsection. His opponent saw it coming, however, and immediately backed off to avoid getting hit._

_Minato grinned, noticing a slight mistake the man had made. He still needed to confirm his theory though, so he resumed attacking, this time using a flurry of fast, but not particularly hard-hitting attacks. The masked man didn't make any attempt to dodge this time, instead choosing to stand his ground and let the attacks phase through him. After several fruitless seconds of attacking, the Hokage deduced that his opponent's technique either had no time limit, or would simply take too long to wear out. That done, he decided to test his opponent by purposely overextending a kick, even as he mentally locked on to one of the Hiraishin seals he had placed nearby._

_The masked man took the bait of the test._

_When Minato felt the man grab him, he focused his chakra, applying one of his newer techniques utilizing the Hiraishin. Instead of flashing away to the seal, he used himself as a seal to flash one of his signature three-pronged kunai into the vicinity and sent it flying at the masked man. A splash of blood on his face, and the Hokage grinned when the man let go of him and retreated several steps._

_His weakness was that he needed to be tangible in order to attack him! So the only time he could hurt the masked man was when he was attacking!_

_"__As expected of the Yondaime Hokage, you figured out my technique so quickly…" his opponent growled._

_"__I wouldn't be Hokage if I _didn't_ know how to figure out an enemy technique," Minato quipped, a grin on his face. It was then that a thought hit him. "Y'know, I never got your name… are you Uchiha Madara?"_

_"__Well, you can believe that if you want," the masked figure let out a small laugh. "It's an honour that the Yondaime Hokage thinks so highly of me."_

_"__I don't remember reading Madara to have _your_ specific Sharingan power, though, based on what I've seen of your one eye," Minato countered, hoping to probe for info._

_"__And how sure are you that he ever used this power in the first place?" the man said, even as he pulled a set of cuff links attached by chains out from his robe and cuffed both of his wrists, after which he prepared himself in a taijutsu stance that seemed vaguely familiar to Minato. "Enough talk, I have a village to raze to the ground…"_

_Minato set himself into a Taijutsu stance as well, even as he said, "Not that I'll allow it, _Obito_."_

_The masked figure actually stiffened at the last word. "You're too perceptive, Minato-sensei."_

_Minato mentally cheered at figuring out his opponent's identity, even while he charged forward with a roundhouse kick._

_Obito stood his ground, letting the attack phase through him as usual. Once Minato had passed through him, he materialized himself along with his chains, tripping the Hokage over as he spun around to try and grab him. "I've long surpassed you, sensei! I will burn Konoha to the ground, along with everything and everyone in it!"_

_Minato merely used his hands as temporary feet and kicked the stray Uchiha with his actual feet, knocking him down. "Not if you don't see something like this coming, you haven't," he retorted._

_"__What?" Obito wondered as he laid on his back, trying to recover from the impact. "See what coming?"_

_Minato didn't answer right away, even as he rushed over to Obito and performed a bit of instant Fuinjutsu, mainly to severely reduce the power his wayward student had… by removing the contract which allowed for Obito to summon and even control the Fox. He also performed a secondary seal on the Uchiha… one which Obito felt the effects of almost immediately._

_"__What!?" Obito gasped, as he felt the chakra to his eye abruptly cut off. When he tried to reactivate his Sharingan, he found that there was… some kind of block on his chakra network. He could still see, but he had lost the advantage of being able to anticipate the movements of the Yellow Flash. "What did you do, Minato!?"_

_"__First off, I removed your control over the Kyuubi no Youko," Minato lectured as he held a pair of fingers up. "Second, I killed your ability to use your Sharingan, up to a time in which you'll need to retrain it anyway." Putting his fingers back down, he drew one of his kunai and said, "Not that you'll have said time to regain your Sharingan… you're under arrest."_

_"__Tch… I'm not done with Konoha yet! Mark my words, Yondaime Hokage! I will be back to end it!" Obito growled, forming a handsign even as Minato rushed him. One slash later, there was a poof of smoke, and a log replaced the masked man._

Minato looked at the fox as the end of the memory played through his mind, even as he thought, _'I'm sorry… Kushina.'_

"Hold the fox still, Bunta!" Minato yelled.

Before Gamabunta could reply to that, however, the fox suddenly started convulsing, even as its giant chakra bomb dissipated into the air around them.

"What's going on?" the Hokage blinked in surprise, watching as the fox abruptly began to disperse, parts of it breaking apart in orange particles that dispersed around the area. When about half of the fox was left, the particles started to fly in the direction of the Konoha General Hospital, much to his horror. "Is it moving there? I won't let you!"

However, before Minato could do anything to the fox that was breaking apart, his 'Kushina's-in-grave-danger' senses went wild. Looking in the direction of his wife, he saw…

"Oh, shit."

…another Kyuubi no Youko.

"Ugh…" Minato turned in the direction of the first fox, which had already completely dispersed into particles now. So far there was no giant fox emerging near the hospital, so… could he consider it safe for now? In the meantime, the second Kyuubi demanded his attention, especially because it was so near Kushina… "I'll get back to the first one later! Bunta, go for the one near Kushina!"

**"****Roger!"** Bunta replied, even as he rushed in the direction of the other fox. Strangely enough, however, the fox was just sniffing around for the time being, as if looking for something. Well, not that they'd let the fox do that, ever.

"Let's get it away from Kushina first!" Minato shouted out to Gamabunta, gritting his teeth. He didn't think he had enough chakra left to teleport ANOTHER Kyuubi out into the wilderness, so they'd have to deal with it here.

As if just noticing Gamabunta and Minato, the second Kyuubi turned towards them and snarled. Before they could do anything, the fox summoned a large amount of… not chakra, it didn't feel like it… over the tips of its tails and formed a large amount of fire into nine balls of the energy. When the fireballs were finished forming…

"Oh no you don't!" Minato roared, locking on to one of his Hiraishin seals outside Konoha. "Hiraishin!" He didn't have enough chakra to teleport the whole Kyuubi, but that didn't mean he didn't have enough to handle an attack of this magnitude!

As if on cue, the fox threw the fireballs with its tails at the pair that were fighting it, even while moving away from the area where an imminent fiery explosion was bound to happen. As if expecting the fireballs to do the job, it went back to sniffing around, looking for that something it was there for.

The fox never got the chance to do much more, because the fireballs vanished into thin air as Gamabunta jumped through the air where the attack had been, launching a kick at the fox that knocked it a good distance away. In the distance, the fiery explosion that the fox had been expecting sent a shockwave flying through the forest it had landed in.

The fox, which was in shock, didn't get the chance to counter with an attack of its own… though it _did_ rush past the toad with an amazing amount of speed. When it made it to where it was supposed to go, it roared, and attempted to crush the house Kushina and Naruto were resting in!

"Kushina! Naruto!" Minato gasped in shock, before he did the first thing he could think of - he flashed into the house moments before the claw could come down on top of it, immediately grabbed his wife ("Minato-koi? Wha-") and child before he flashed back onto Gamabunta's head.

Mere moments after the claw crushed the house, Gamabunta drew his tanto and slashed at the fox, aiming for the eyes…

The fox managed to react in time by rearing back, resulting in Gamabunta's slash landing across the bridge of its nose. The cut began to emit some steam, before it closed back as if it never happened in the first place, although the tanto did manage to draw some blood. Some droplets of it landed on a still-weakened Kushina, while Minato looked on. "Kushina, are you alright?" he quickly asked.

"I'm… fine… Minato…" Kushina breathed out, mere moments before the blood on her started to evaporate, as if it was never there. "Huh? I'm healed?" she asked incredulously.

"What?" Minato blinked in surprise, almost losing his focus when the jerk from Gamabunta landing after dodging a fireball forced him back to reality. "Kushina, we don't have time! We need to seal the fox into Naruto now, before it does any more damage to Konoha!"

"What?!" Kushina yelled at Minato. "How will Naruto live if he doesn't have his parents?! You're not _seriously_ considering using the two of us as sacrifices to seal Kurama into Naruto, are you?!"

"Kushina, this isn't Kurama," Minato narrowed his eyes as he looked at the fox. "Last I saw of him, he dispersed into particles and moved towards the hospital. I don't know what happened to him, but he doesn't seem to be causing any more trouble. Besides, I'm not seriously considering using _both _of us as sacrifices."

"What…?" Kushina asked blankly. "Don't tell me you intend to pass the mantle back to Hiruzen-ossan!"

"Let Hiruzen-ossan have his rest, Kushina," Minato chuckled as he made his final preparations and unclasped his cloak. "You can probably still ask him to advise you though, Godaime Hokage-sama." With that, he wrapped the cloak around Kushina and planted a short, loving kiss on her cheek.

"Minato… koi?" Kushina asked, confused by this turn of events. "What about whoever attacked Konoha? What do you intend to have happen to them?"

"That was Obito. I don't know what happened to him or why, but he wants to burn Konoha to the ground. I'm hoping we can still redeem him… but I don't think we have a choice here. Kushina, take care of Konoha for me," Minato sighed, casting one longing glance back at his village. "Make sure the Will of Fire continues to burn in the next generation."

Before Kushina could say anything else, the fox roared at the group, and then… a literal god of Death showed up mere moments later.

_One Shinobi faced the Kyuubi no Youko in mortal combat! He sacrificed his life to capture the beast and seal it in a human body! This ninja was known as the Yondaime Hokage!_

* * *

><p><em>Konoha General Hospital, later that night<em>

As Kushina walked through the hospital with a contingent of ANBU next to her, she put to use her internal 'Kura-baka sensor' abilities, to figure out what happened to the giant fox. Her chief concern was that it somehow became the size of a baby fox, or something ridiculously similar. Still, she knew that the fox would've been killed in that case. It was only a matter of time before the fox was found…

"Ow… ow… oowwwwwwww!" a woman's voice could be heard… one that Kushina recognized right off.

"That voice… Karen?!" she yelled, before she rushed over to the source, finding her friend in a hospital bed that was designed to let her give birth. However, it seemed like the doctors taking care of her were killed by something, something that had never been encountered before. "Karen, what happened?!"

"Oh… Kushi-chan… I'm glad… you arrived," Kozuki Karen said from her bed, gasping for breath. "Please… save her… my daughter… I'm not… gonna make it…"

"You have a daughter? Who's the father?" Kushina asked, concerned for her friend. "If your daughter needs someone, it should be family, no—"

"Kaika… is ignorant… Kushi-chan," Karen admitted. "He thought… I was… infertile… but… I'm not…"

"Karen… I don't know what to say," Kushina said. "You really want me to take care of your daughter?"

"Yes… please… save Kirika… Shiori… don't let… her… di… e…" Karen breathed her last, bequeathing her daughter to the woman who was her best friend.

With tears in her eyes, Kushina gently walked over to the child, holding the crying baby close to her. "Kirika Shiori, huh? I never heard of a person with two given names before," she mused.

As the child felt the warmth Kushina was exuding, she stopped crying, and started to fall asleep in her new mother's arms. In a matter of moments, she was sound asleep, as if hoping that this would never end.

Almost as soon as the child was asleep, Kushina's internal 'Kura-baka' sensors started going haywire, as if the fox was in the immediate vicinity. "Huh?" Kushina blinked, looking around for the source, only to realize…

"Oh, you have _got_ to be _kidding_ me!" she declared in a soft tone, looking at the child in her arms. "How did it come down to _this_?"

* * *

><p><em>Outside of the Gates of Konoha<em>

A lone figure secretly made their way through the early light of the rising sun. It was the best time to depart as the ANBU guards would be tired from being high strung for so long and suffer weakened vision as the night turned to day. Nevertheless, the figure made their way carefully through the trees near the road.

Although proceeding with great care and caution, the figure's mind was full of turmoil. As would be told in the years to come, everyone lost someone that night. This included the lone figure.

_'__I'm sorry,'_ the figure thought. _'I couldn't be there for you and our daughter.'_ Tears were threatening to well up in their violet eyes, but the figure pushed them back, though idly wondered if it would be a good thing to be caught and killed now by the ANBU.

It was hard, but the figure took to heart the memories of happiness…

_'__Has any of this been worth it?'_ the figure thought, rubbing furious at dark black hair on their head as they passed a boundary point and allowed the tears, and their effect, to flow freely.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day…<em>

Kushina groaned as she rested her head on the desk that her husband had handed down to her as the Godaime Hokage. She wasn't sure if she was fit for the job… well, sure, she had training on how to handle political matters as a main branch Uzumaki, but it had never really been put to the test until now. For now though, she'd just have to follow Minato's wishes and do the job as best as she could.

The repairs on Konoha following the attack were still undergoing. Naturally, the Hokage Tower was one of the first to be restored as the administrative centre of the village, but everywhere else was still a mess. Hence the towering stacks of paperwork on the Hokage's desk. There were far too many things she needed to deal with - repairs to damaged buildings, requests for supplies, missives from other villages offering help (there was NO way she was letting Kumo in again, damn the lot of them), authorizing foreign workers to help with the reconstruction…

"How did Minato-koi have the patience to do all this… right, he had Kage Bunshin," Kushina muttered, staring at the looming stack of paperwork. Furrowing her brow, she could've sworn that it just grew bigger before her eyes. "I still wanna burn it."

It was then that there was a knock at the door, before a very welcome sight showed herself in. "Hey, Kushi-chan!"

"Miko-chan!" Kushina stood up from her desk so fast, she almost upset the stack of the devil's spawn on it. Looking around from behind it, she spotted the black-haired woman that was one of her very best friends. "You're alright!"

"What made you think I wouldn't be?" Mikoto pouted, before her expression turned serious. "In any case, I wished to know if you had anything to share about the one who attacked Konoha… mainly to give you and everyone else a hand."

Kushina opened her mouth and closed it, wondering if she should really tell Mikoto that it was another Uchiha that had attacked Konoha - and a long-thought dead one too. Letting out a sigh, she decided that it would be better not to tell one of her best friends a lie. Before she could say anything, however—

"Kushi-chan, are you in? Secchin and I decided to drop by to see how you were doing…" a female voice called out.

"Oi, what about me?" a male voice protested.

"Oh, hey, Hito-chan, Secchin, Akihiro-san!" Mikoto called out to the trio that had gathered outside the door. "Come on in, if it's alright with Kushi-chan."

"It's fine, I need the company right now anyway," Kushina waved.

A graceful, kind-looking woman with long dark blue hair entered the room, together with a silver-haired woman who wore her hair in a wavy manner reaching down to her waist and a man with a similar shade of silver hair cut short. The latter two were holding hands, even while they approached the recently-christened Godaime Hokage.

"Well… now that the gang's all here," Mikoto said, fully aware that two of their total number had died the previous night, "what do you know about the situation, Kushi-chan?"

"The attacker… was an Uchiha," Kushina revealed reluctantly, not missing the flinch from the dark-haired Uchiha matriarch. "We thought he was dead… I don't know what happened to Obito-kun to make him hate Konoha so much that he wants to destroy it." Another flinch.

"Kushi-chan… is there any proof to this?" Mikoto asked, despite having the feeling deep down that her friend was telling the truth. "I mean, why would he hate Konoha that much?"

"Minato-koi was sure it was Obito-kun," Kushina nodded resignedly.

"He used to be such a good kid… I wonder what happened to him," Yukikaze Setsuna mused, leaning against her husband, Akihiro.

"I still remember how enthusiastic he used to be about being a ninja," the Yukikaze patriarch shook his head. "If only we could get close to him, we could use our doujutsu to find out what happened to him…"

"No need." Another male voice abruptly announced from the open door.

Turning to face the owner of the voice, Mikoto asked, "What do you mean by that, Kakashi-kun?"

The one-eyed ninja with the silver gravity-defying hair that entered the room let out a sigh as he looked at Mikoto. "Remember that incident when… Rin was kidnapped by Kirigakure to use as the Sanbi's container?" Despite the face mask hiding a good deal of his face, none of the others missed the way he tensed up as he recalled his dearly deceased teammate.

"Yes, I remember… she was reported as MIA by her team leader," Mikoto answered, confusion evident in her tone. "Why?"

"What the team leader didn't say…" Kakashi sucked in a deep breath as he continued, his emotions raging within him. "…Was that I had to kill her myself. At that time, the Sanbi's chakra was overwhelming her, so… I had no other choice…"

"What?!" Mikoto yelled in shock. "How come you killed her?! If she didn't die—"

"If I didn't kill her, the Sanbi would've gone berserk, come out and started destroying everything around us!" Kakashi pointed out, raising his voice near the end. After a moment of silence, he inclined his head slightly. "Sorry, it's just… bringing up bad memories."

Before Mikoto could say anything else on that subject, a hand was placed on her shoulder. Turning to look at the one responsible, she saw Kushina shaking her head. "Kushi-chan?"

"Mikoto, can't you see how much he's suffering? Let him go," the Godaime Hokage patted her best friend on her back softly, before turning to Kakashi. "I assume that meant that Obito found out about what you had to do."

"I'm assuming as much, too," Kakashi nodded. "I don't know how, though, considering that I thought I saw him die on me… when he gave me his eye."

"Yes, that would pose a problem, especially since we have no way of knowing how he managed to survive what he was reportedly killed by," Mikoto mused with a nod. "Oh, Kakashi-kun, you said he gave you his eye? How did you activate its special properties without being an Uchiha?"

"Simple: it's always on, and he had it at all three levels before Mangekyou," Kakashi answered, shocking everyone else.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Hyuuga Hitomi, the woman with dark-blue hair, asked in a tone that was a mix between shock and confusion.

"I heard a voice in my head that explained what the next stage of the Sharingan is, ma'am," Kakashi answered as honestly as possible. "I only activated that one stage when Rin died… the stage required the death of one's best friend by the user's hands."

"Then that means you have the…" Akihiro stared at Kakashi incredulously, before shaking his head. "You have been through far too much, Kakashi-kun."

"I think we can agree to that much," Mikoto said, before walking over to the other Sharingan user in the room. When she made it to him, she said, "Please… don't use the eye you've been given too much. You need your life more than your honor to a friend that has gone rogue."

"I can't promise that, Mikoto-san," Kakashi shook his head in remorse. "If I set him on this path in the first place, it will be my responsibility to stop him."

"Not _that_ honor, Kakashi-kun!" Mikoto clarified, getting his attention. "I meant, don't force yourself to follow his life habits when _you_ are your own person, and not a copy of Obito!"

Kakashi looked a little taken aback, before he forced a chuckle. "I've been caught out, haven't I?"

"Is there anyone in this room who didn't think Obito's way of finding excuses to be late was extremely lame?" Akihiro pointed out. "I think we can all agree we don't need any more of that."

"Indeed," Mikoto answered, before looking Kakashi in the eye. "Still… if, for whatever reason, you _are_ late, please have a legitimate excuse, and have it be the truth."

"I suppose I don't need to mope anymore now that I know Obito's alive, huh…" Kakashi looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Very well. Thank you, Mikoto-san."

"You're welcome, Kakashi-kun," Mikoto replied. Turning to look at her best friend, she asked, "So… what else do you feel we need to know?"

"That I might not be available for our usual meet up this week since I'm swamped in paperwork?" Kushina glared at the stack of paperwork on her desk. Had it grown yet again when she wasn't looking!? "I'm going to need some help with all this…"

"Don't you know how to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" Hitomi asked from her spot in the office.

Kushina raised an eyebrow as she raised her hands in the necessary handsign. A poof of smoke later, a sickly-looking version of her appeared beside her. "Something with the healing I experienced when I was splashed with the second Kyuubi's blood messed up my chakra network. I've already checked with the medic-nin, they say it's only temporary. So until then… no Kage Bunshin for me."

With a wince, Hitomi and Mikoto simultaneously said, "Ouch."

Kakashi cleared his throat, saying, "I'll take my leave… I'll see you later."

"Have a nice day, Kakashi-kun," Setsuna waved as the silver-haired jonin left the room. "Well, as nice as it can get with the rebuilding effort ongoing…"

"I think I can spare some time to help you with the paperwork, Kushi-chan," Hitomi spoke up, running her hand over her engorged belly. "I'm not expecting for about another month or so anyway."

"Aw… thanks, Hito-chan," Kushina beamed. "I hope that we can get it done double-time!"

"Shall we make that triple-time?" Setsuna laughed as she stepped forward too. "I still have about another month to go too!"

"Really? Thank you, Secchin!" Kushina cheered, even as she glomped both women.

"Not so hard! Not so hard!" Setsuna gasped out loud as she felt Kushina starting to put too much pressure on her bloated belly.

"Eh?" Kushina looked at the women, before she let go and retreated a fair distance. "ACK! I'm so sorry!"

Setsuna and Hitomi breathed sighs of relief.

"Well… shall we get to work?" Kushina asked.

* * *

><p><em>Within a room of shadows….<em>

Ten people, obscured by the shadows, were discussing plots of an unknown agenda.

_"__Is it ready?"_ the leader asked the others.

_"__Not yet,"_ replied one of the generals.

_"__When will it be ready?"_ the leader asked further.

_"__Soon,"_ another of the generals replied.

_"__Very well… when it's ready, all will know of Project Apsilon,"_ the leader said simply.

_"__What of the Children?"_ a third general asked.

_"__They will be of little significance,"_ a fourth general pointed out. _"Besides, we have more to worry about, like restoring Him from death."_

_"__Indeed, that will be important,"_ the fifth general pointed out. _"For now, we must be careful, as the Children need not be made aware of the truth."_

_"__What I meant was, what if the Children find out that their powers can destroy Him, and focus their efforts to stopping it before He can come back?"_ the third general elaborated, getting the attention of the rest.

_"__Well, they will be continuously fed lies about their powers, and about the truth, if you're worried,"_ the sixth general answered.

_"__To think, we don't have any way of confirming the status of the Children once they've been born, not at all… do we?"_ the seventh general asked.

_"__Relax,"_ the eighth general answered. _"We don't need to worry at all, given that He provided us with the tools to confirm the truth of the status of the Children."_

_"__This better work,"_ the final general said, grumbling out loud. _"We've almost lost one of our pawns for keeping the most recent of the Children in check because of a fluke in the battlefield. If you ask me, sir, this is starting to become a right pain in the—"_

_"__Enough small talk,"_ the leader commanded. _"We mustn't let anyone interfere with Project Apsilon. Dismissed."_

With that, the ten vanished, as if they were never there to begin with.

* * *

><p><em>In an underground military complex…<em>

A man that looked to be in his teens, in spite of his actual age being 26, walked through a highly sophisticated military complex that had been gathering dust for a rather long time. He was flanked by a pair of soldiers that he had hand-picked to escort him, soldiers who were rank and file in the Principality, nothing more. Still…

"I can assume you two have no idea why I selected you at all, right?" the man asked.

"No, sir," the soldier on his right replied in a straight tone, keeping to his training.

"I see…" the man answered, tone neutral.

"Really, Lucanor, you need to remember that those outside of the Giovanni bloodline aren't as gifted as you," a man wearing a scientist's coat said from in front of the three in a reprimanding tone.

"Yes, Professor Schwarzwald," the man, now identified as Lucanor Giovanni, answered.

"Sir, may I ask why we were chosen?" the other soldier on the left asked hesitantly, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I chose you for three reasons," Lucanor answered, not bothering to look at his soldiers. "The first is that you two were the only ones available at the time… the only ones to be the first of Lucrecio's finest soldiers." Upon arriving at a door, he looked to the man known as Schwarzwald and asked, "If you wouldn't mind, Professor?"

"Not at all, Lucanor," the scientist answered, opening the door by typing in a pass code. With the door opening, the group of four saw that the lighting in the room was down.

"Sir, I have a torch with me," one of the soldiers said, holding out said item and igniting it.

"Put out the torch," Lucanor said, clapping twice. As he did so, the lights turned on, revealing the inside of the room to be a mass of weapons that looked like futuristic muskets of great variation.

Blinking, the soldier did as he was told, before peering into the room in wonder. "Wow."

"The second reason I chose you two is because of your adaptability with combat situations," Lucanor continued his line of thought from earlier. "Not only are you two capable of using your blades to a great degree, you also managed to master the process of using firearms, something which is to be mandatory for the future. In fact, there's a testing ground in the next room over, to test you two out against some target drones."

"Are these firearms?" the other soldier studied one of the nearby futuristic muskets closely, trying to stop himself from running his hands over it to study the make. "They look nothing like our current ones."

"Indeed, they are firearms," Schwarzwald said. "However, the current ones we have are actually derived from a weapon many centuries old, which I find extremely funny in the strange sense." Upon getting looks from the soldiers, he said, "It would seem that our world was hit by some sort of cataclysmic event that rendered it near-inhospitable… we only have records of everything leading up to the event, but we're perfectly aware that this technology is from the past, not the future."

"Ancient… technology?" the soldier near the muskets almost dropped the one he had been holding. He had made absolutely sure not to touch anything that looked important though.

"Indeed, ancient technology," Lucanor answered. "Before you think it's impossible, we have managed to verify the accuracy of this information, based on the type of ammunition the weapons use. It is a great fact that these weapons need to be maintained once more to ensure they're up to the task."

"Lucanor, you almost forgot the third reason," Schwarzwald said.

The soldiers looked reverently at the new weapons, before turning towards the man that had led them there, unable to hide the expectant looks on their faces.

"The third reason why I chose you two… was that you have the highest ratio," Lucanor finished his train of thought.

"Pardon me, sir?" the soldiers blinked in unison.

"Oh, wow, an in-sync query," Schwarzwald said. "Now, that's pretty rare."

"It matters not, Professor," Lucanor said to his instructor. Turning his attention to the soldiers, he asked, "What do you know of the UPH project?"

"Um, nothing, sir." one of the soldiers replied, wondering if they were supposed to know about the project.

Lucanor Giovanni nodded, saying, "I figured you wouldn't know of a top-secret project only a select few would even know existed. The UPH project, short for 'Ultimate Processed Human' project, is what will lead humanity out of its current dark age, by upgrading select humans from their rather primitive state to reach the pinnacle of human evolution… and, before you say anything on the Church, they'd rather use it themselves for their own goals than allow others to use it for the betterment of humanity."

The two soldiers weren't quite sure what they were supposed to make of that. "What does the UPH project have to do with us being summoned here, sir?" one of them asked.

"It has to do with the fact that you two were found to have the highest survival ratio in your blood, the very thing that would allow you two to live more than any other candidate in the trial phases," Lucanor answered. "The UPH project also has to do with expanding the abilities of humanity, and you two have been chosen to become test subjects, to see to it that you help better humanity as a whole."

"Sir… with all due respect, I'm not sure if I want to become a _test subject_ for this," the first soldier shifted uncomfortably, the look the second soldier shooting at him telling him he thought the same way.

Before Lucanor could answer that, Schwarzwald asked, "Well, which would you rather have? Dull, dreary lives with little chance of improving the human condition? Or lives of adventure, with you two being the first of many potential recruits to help free the world we live in from danger?"

The two soldiers looked at each other hesitantly. They couldn't help but be lured to the idea of adventure… and true, their lives were rather dull for now. "…Sir, do we have to decide now?" one of them slowly asked.

"Not at all, no," the scientist answered. "However, the time will come when you have to choose, and it might even be too late to go with it then. Just some words to think on."

It was at that moment when a separate soldier came running in, huffing and puffing all the while. "Your… Majesty… we've… been robbed!"

Raising an eyebrow, Lucanor asked, "Come again?"

"It was… Emperor… Barbados… he stole… the signet ring!" the third soldier reported, before he collapsed.

"What!?" the soldiers gasped in unison. "Emperor Barbados!?"

Schwarzwald looked at his protege carefully, noting that the raised eyebrow was exactly what his pupil showed to display that things were _not_ going according to plan, something that only a very select few would ever see as the truth. "Lucanor, what should we do? Without the signet ring, you won't be able to follow through on your duties as leader of the Principality of Lucrecio…"

Lucanor looked at his right hand, where he had a ring on his pinky finger that looked suspiciously like the signet ring, before he looked at his mentor. "It seems that the replacement Emperor is under someone's influence for this," he said in a cryptic tone that only Schwarzwald would get meaning from. Turning to his soldiers, he said, "You two, bring your fellow to the med-lab, and place him on the central table. He needs to be restored properly, so make sure he can get that way."

"Sir, yes sir!" the two soldiers saluted in unison as they pulled the third soldier to his feet and walked off carrying him between them.

Lucanor turned to face his mentor again, asking, "Did Elias ever realize I had the real ring on my right hand?"

Raising an eyebrow, Schwarzwald answered, "Er… no, I don't think anyone knew you were wearing the real ring at all times. Hell, even _I_ was confused until now."

"Good, I was worried that I was _that_ transparent," Lucanor answered. "Now… how about we look into the development of our giant humanoid fighting machines?"

Schwarzwald looked at his student with a blank look. "Lucanor, who do you take me for? Of _course_ I'd love to do so!"

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, in a small village…<em>

A pub in the south side of the village of Hod was just opening its doors for the first time, many people taking the chance to get some food at a decent price, with most everyone getting the opportunity for some good drink as well. It was in this village, an unknown town with little to offer, that a meeting would take place inside its pub.

A pious-looking woman, wearing a long red robe, stepped inside. She looked around for an available table before finding one. She walked over to it, seeing that it was empty of customers, and simply sat down at the spot where she would be able to see the door. She was willing to wait for around an hour, just to be on the safe side for how long it would be for her fellow to show up, and order some food for them both—

"I'm sorry I'm late, your excellency," a voice said from in front of her, bringing her from her thoughts.

The woman looked over her fellow, the owner of the voice, and studied him for a bit. He was wearing the outfit of a commoner usually found around the area, but it was his facial structure that set him apart from anyone else. His eyes looked draconic, for one thing, just as his jawline was lizard-like… this was the right person.

"Oh, no, you're early," the woman replied, waving off the man's apology. "I had only gotten here about a minute ago. Please… have a seat."

"Thank you, your excellency," the man said, pulling up a chair and sitting down across from her. "Now… what is it you called me here for, ma'am?"

At that moment, before the woman could answer, a waiter came and asked, "May I take your orders?"

Blinking in surprise, the two of them looked at the waiter, before looking at the menus on their spots at the table. Picking them up, the church woman and the draconic man looked through the options, quickly selecting the needed options for eating to fill their stomachs. After giving their orders, the waiter left them alone, intent on giving them a chance to chat together for the time being.

"So… what was it you needed me for?" the man asked, curious about the development that was possibly happening at that moment.

"I needed to let you know that Yoko's missing. Truly so. She vanished without a trace, Zhoul Orgus," the woman said matter of factly. "I'm putting you up to the task of finding her wherever she might be."

"Oh? Well, I don't mean to argue with you about this, but, why have me come here when we could have done this in the privacy of my home?" the draconic man, Zhoul Orgus, asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Simple," the woman said. "You don't have any food in your belly to fuel your teleportation spell, which this was meant to rectify. Besides, if you traveled in your nobleman's outfit, you'd probably be extremely out of place."

Zhoul blinked at that, before he nodded in understanding. "I see," he said. "Well… when do we eat?"

At that moment…

"Here are your orders," the waiter from before said, placing the dishes in front of them both.

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Okay… this is getting to be utterly complicated for some reason. However, it'll be less complicated in due time, I hope.<strong>

**Now, though, well… Astral gets to write his notes here.**

* * *

><p><strong>AstralXYZ: Well, we've got the plot lined out nicely for quite a few chapters. Hopefully we don't repeat the mistakes we made the last time around. Hopefully.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Yeah… quite a lot of mistakes had come from the previous renditions. Hopefully… things will be better this time.<strong>

**No, the review corner won't show up until the end of the current plot arc, and only at the end of each plot arc. Just be content to read and enjoy.**

**See you all next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Xamusel: Okay… honestly, Astral and I started work on this at 2254 on the day before Thanksgiving, over at the -8 time zone in the world. Of course, given how fast Astral and I update when we're working together… well, we might have this done sooner than expected.**

**In any case… time to get started on this chapter for real!**

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Book 0<em>**

**_Prologue Arc_**

**_Chapter 1_**

**_Enter the first signs of trouble_**

* * *

><p><em>Konoha, 10 years after the Kyuubi attack<em>

It was a beautiful day in Konoha. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the Hokage was doing more of the same ever since she was instated as such… paperwork.

_'__Honestly… this paperwork is giving me a headache!'_ she thought. _'I need a distraction from it… even a prank from Naruto should do the trick.'_

It was at that point when she looked out the window to see her son, Naruto, jumping around with a silver-haired girl, both holding buckets of some sort, with a group of angry Chuunin chasing them both.

_'…__wait. Why would they be chasing Naruto and his friend at this point?'_ Kushina thought. _'It can't be that they… wait, don't tell me...'_

She looked out the window and almost immediately felt the temptation to slam her head into the windowsill. As expected, they had done it _again_. And this time they had defaced the Hokage Monument! The Shodaime had been painted so that he was sneaking glances at a certain orange book that had been painted on the mountainside between the Nidaime, Sandaime and Yondaime out the corner of his eye, and a blush had even been painted on!

As for the other Hokage… they were all staring unashamedly at the book with nosebleeds and blushes of varying intensity, while the facade of her husband's face was painted to be looking back in fear at her own face, which was looking at the others with what appeared to be unbridled fury, even complete with the Uzumaki chains floating in the air beside her.

Oh, _someone_ was in for a world of hurt…

"Ho-Hokage-sama!" a Chunin rushed into the office, only to screech to a halt as the notoriously potent killing intent of the Red Habanero made its appearance. "Umm… I-I think I'll take my leave first…" he quietly stepped out of the room.

"Na-ru-to!" Kushina yelled out, before she rushed out of the office, intent on chasing down her son and friend.

Moments later, a silver-haired woman with wavy hair stepped into the room, blinking when she noticed that Kushina was already gone. "Ara, did I just miss her? Oh well, better get to chasing down my naughty, naughty daughter…" she let out a sigh as she ran out after the redheaded Hokage.

XxX

"Woo-hoo! That was the _best_ prank we ever _pulled_!" Uzumaki Naruto called out to his partner in crime.

"Tell me about it, Naruto-kun!" the silverette running beside him grinned, her wavy hair streaming in the wind as they jumped across the rooftops. "But won't your mum kill you for this?"

"She can try, but it will never stick!" Naruto countered. "Okaa-san is too gentle to actually kill me, believe it!"

"NAAAARUUUUUTOOOOOOOO!"

"I find that a little hard to believe," the silverette let out a bead of cold sweat at the scream of the enraged mother.

"KAAAAAGAAAAAMIIIIII!"

"Oh boy," the silverette suddenly felt what could only be described as a sense of impending doom come over her.

"Say, Kagami-chan," Naruto spoke up for a bit. "Isn't that your okaa-san headed this way?"

Kagami turned around and her face paled to match her hair colour when she realized that yes, that WAS her mother running across the rooftops towards them, "Step on it, Naruto-kun!" she barked out, before she put on a sudden burst of speed, leaving Naruto behind in the dust.

Naruto didn't need to be told twice, even as he seemingly tapped into a Hiraishin-esque technique that enabled him to speed up to catch up with Kagami, before he was in the same position he was at beforehand with Kagami. "I stepped on it, Kagami-chan!"

"Not fast enough, she's still catching up! I thought she already retired from the life of a ninja!" Kagami turned around to look behind them again and gaped at the sight of her mother starting to close the distance. Not only that, now that she realized it, there was also a familiar silhouette running beside her… that of a certain redheaded Hokage. "Naruto-kun, smoke bombs, smoke bombs!"

"Right!" Naruto called out, even as he pulled out the two they needed to make a clean escape. Throwing them at the ground beneath them, they stopped and rummaged in their bags for several moments before pulling out two sets of ninja hiding cloth. Plastering themselves against a nearby wall, they held the cloth up to camouflage themselves and held their breath.

There were footsteps on the roof, and then silence.

Mere moments before they could think of removing their hiding cloths…

The pair of mothers pulled the cloths away from their children. "End of the road, Naruto, Kagami-chan," Kushina said, tranquil fury in her voice.

"You two are in soooo much trouble…" Setsuna chuckled in an ominous tone, even as she covered her mouth with a hand, her killing intent seeping from her and condensing into a Noh mask floating in the air glaring at the two children. Somehow its eyes were shadowed and glowing red...

"Umm… mercy?" Naruto asked pitifully.

"Mummy," Kagami squeaked in a similar tone. "Wait, I shouldn't be saying that…"

"Sorry, Naruto, all out of it…" Kushina replied, a sickly sweet tone combining with her tranquil fury.

"Your mummy is right here, Kagami…" Setsuna chuckled, even while her Noh mask multiplied, complete with ominous glowing eyes and all.

As if on cue, Naruto and Kagami both dropped to their hands and knees and yelled out, "We're sorry!"

"So if you're sorry, what should you do…?" Kushina and Setsuna said in unison, glaring dangerously at the two prankster children.

"We'll do anything for punishment, honest!" Naruto yelled, even as Kagami nodded in agreement.

"What are you going to do about that?" Kushina gestured at the defaced Hokage Monument.

"Clean it up!" Kagami answered, with Naruto nodding in agreement.

"And when will you get started on it?" Setsuna threw in her own two ryo, an ominous smile decorating her face.

Before the two could answer that with words, their minds caught up with their ears, prompting them to visibly pale and start running towards the cleaning closet.

"Oi! Get back here! Don't you dare skip out!" Kushina growled out, immediately beginning to chase after them.

"Ara ara, what naughty children we have…" Setsuna chuckled as she took off after the Hokage.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, over near where Naruto and Kagami got caught…<em>

A young girl with blue hair and lavender Hyuuga eyes watched the byplay between the pranksters and their mothers, disdain in her eyes. She didn't know what to make of the girl of the two, but the boy… now _that_ was a different story.

"Again? I wonder what they did this time…" one of the members of the Hyuuga branch family escorting her muttered.

"More than likely something to desecrate their honor," the young Hyuuga answered, scorn in her tone. "How likely would they realize they _had_ honor by this point?"

"Hinata-sama, you shouldn't be so hostile towards the Uzumaki heir…" her escort protested.

"And why _shouldn't_ I?" Hyuuga Hinata retorted. "The last prank he pulled, he made a right mess of my bedroom!"

The branch Hyuuga flinched at the venom in the young heiress' tone. "B-But Hinata-sama, we cannot afford to sour relations between our clan and the Hokage! Besides, he did apologize to you that time, didn't he? He said he hit your bedroom by accident…"

"Oh, _really_?" Hinata questioned skeptically. "Then _why_ is it that there was a note next to my underwear drawer saying, 'I got you now!'?!"

"He might have put it in the wrong room?" the branch Hyuuga cowered back, slightly intimidated by the young heiress.

"Let me rephrase that," Hinata stated, tone blank for the moment. "The note was in _his_ handwriting, with _my_ name at the part where it matters, and _he_ was the one to prank my room!"

The branch Hyuuga was left speechless at the audacity of the Uzumaki heir. "I'm sorry, Hinata-sama," he bowed slightly, before falling back into step with his young charge, reminiscing about that night when they had gotten pranked by the orange devil-in-training. It had been a bad night, what with the destruction of nearly every Hyuuga clansman's piece of underwear, as well as the vandalism of their rooms. Not only did the walls of the rooms need to be whitewashed, to remove the paint, but only one person was kept safe from the prank… her okaa-san.

"Still… if, for whatever reason, it was _not_ Uzu-baka," Hinata said, getting her servant's attention, "I'll consider forgiving him for that stunt."

Halfway across the village, a young boy with black hair in the shape of a duck's butt sneezed.

"R-Right, Hinata-sama…" Hinata's escort nodded slowly, not quite sure what to do in their current situation. What if it led to a confrontation between the Hyuuga and Uzumaki clans later on? He shuddered, not really wanting to delve too much into the possibility.

With an irritated sigh, Hinata asked, "What would it take for the idiot to be more considerate of the clans that aren't of major importance in comparison to his family?"

"Hinata-sama, your father might not approve of your actions if they cause a rift between the Hyuuga and Uzumaki clans…" her escort weakly protested.

"Oh, for the love of _swiss cheese_!" Hinata yelled. "Why don't you understand that I'm being serious about getting him to correct his attitude?! He's gonna get in trouble with people from _outside_ the village at this rate!"

Her escort sighed and looked up to where they had last seen the two pranksters jumping across the roofs. "He's still but a child now. Maybe he will change in the future?" he offered.

With a low sigh, Hinata said, "Maybe… I just hope that I don't end up getting married to him as he is right now."

"What do you mean, Hinata-sama?" her escort blinked. "I thought you hated him, so why would you want to get married to him?"

"Erk!" Hinata let out, standing stock still. "Did I _say_ that? I meant to just leave it at getting married to him!"

"Hinata-sama, did Hiashi-sama do anything again?" her escort's eyes narrowed slightly. Hinata was the only Hyuuga from the main family that treated the branch family well aside from her mother, so the branch family usually tried to look out for her in whatever way they could.

"No, not this time," Hinata answered, shaking her head. "It's the elders this time… they thought it a good idea to shove a marriage contract on me with him, seeing me as 'too weak to be a proper Hyuuga'."

"The elders did what!?" her escort had to restrain himself from yelling out loud - it would not be good if any of the main branch saw him. "You mean you will have to marry him in the future no matter what!?"

"Fortunately, no," Hinata replied, smiling serenely. "Okaa-san managed to get otou-sama to veto the contract with a minor incentive… not sure what it is yet."

"I see…" the escort nodded. "Hinata-sama, please know that the branch family will be behind you no matter what your decision is. It is the least we can do for you, to repay yours and Hitomi-sama's kindness."

Hinata blinked at that. "Even Neji-nii? He seemed to be a bit irritated with me for some reason."

Her escort looked a little surprised. "I… must confess I do not know."

With a sigh, Hinata simply said, "I hope it's nothing… really, this would be a problem if it turned out to be something between Neji-nii and I. I don't want a problem between us, you know?"

"Of course, Hinata-sama," her escort bowed. "Perhaps you can talk to Hizashi-sama about it?"

"Uncle? Well… alright," Hinata relented, before continuing down the road back to the Hyuuga compound with her escort.

* * *

><p><em>Back with Naruto and Kagami…<em>

After having gotten the supplies needed to clean the Hokage Monument, and _especially_ after convincing their mothers that they were only going to get said supplies, Naruto and Kagami were headed off to the mountain to clean off their defacing paint.

"We've only had it up for a few hours too…" Kagami's frame sagged visibly, as they looked up at their 'masterpiece'. "It feels like a bit of a waste…"

Naruto patted the silver-haired girl on the back, saying, "There, there… we still have next month, in time for your birthday."

Kagami froze for a moment, before she looked back at Naruto with stars in her eyes. "Really!? We can do another one for my birthday?" she demanded, leaning towards Naruto happily. "Yay!"

"Yes, we can," Naruto said, before he grabbed a few rags and started getting the washing solution ready. "C'mon! We don't have all day, Kagami-chan! Iruka-sensei will _kill_ us if we don't hurry this up!"

"You still have about 10 minutes to finish cleaning up before Iruka comes to hunt you down, Naruto-kun, Kagami-nee…" a familiar, feminine voice called out from beside them, causing the prankster duo to jump.

When they spun around to see, they saw a few girls standing next to them on the platform. The one that had spoken was a young girl with the signature Yukikaze silver hair, with long straight hair and a pair of ponytails on the side. There was also what appeared to be a mirror image of Kagami, but with blue eyes and a more gentle demeanor instead of Kagami's red eyes and more boisterous attitude. And there was also a red-haired girl with violet eyes, who was incidentally tapping her feet, staring right at Naruto with slightly puffed up cheeks.

"Erk!" Naruto let out. "U-Um… how can we help you, Shiori-nee, Hanami-chan, Fubuki-chan?"

"Naruto-nii, honestly," the redhead, Uzumaki Shiori, said while shaking her head. "It only makes things worse when you try to pull these pranks! You're ruining your _reputation_ by doing this!"

"And you too, Kagami…" the Kagami lookalike sighed. "I still get people shooting me odd looks whenever I go out because they confuse me for you!"

"Hanami-chan, you need to help elaborate that they should look you in the eye," Naruto said, offering his two ryo on the subject of looks. "That way, you won't be confused so easily."

Hanami shot an out-of-character glare at the blonde prankster. "Most people don't usually get close enough to differentiate us by eye colour!" she complained with a huff. "Sometimes I wish we weren't twins…"

Fubuki, the younger Yukikaze, folded her arms. "Kagami-nee, you saw _it_ just now, right?"

Kagami shuddered at the memory of seeing her mother use the infamous Yukikaze Noh mask on her earlier. "Don't remind me."

"Then don't get on okaa-san's bad side…" Fubuki sighed.

"Er… you mean that mask that gave us the shivers?" Naruto asked. He almost immediately shrugged. "I figure it'll take a while before she needs to up the power of it on me."

"And you're still asking for more?" Hanami smacked her forehead in exasperation. "I can't believe you, Naruto-kun…"

"Huh?" Naruto asked intelligently. "What? What'd I say?"

"Shiori-chan, I don't understand how Naruto-kun can be such a glutton for punishment…" Fubuki whispered in Shiori's ear.

"HEY! I _heard_ that!" Naruto roared. It was at that moment when he remembered something. "ACK! Kagami-chan, we need to hurry up and do this! We don't want Iruka-sensei to kill us!"

Hanami sighed as she watched Kagami jump and get back to cleaning the paint off the monument. "I hate to channel a Nara… but this is troublesome."

Fubuki indicated her agreement with a small nod.

"So…" Shiori spoke up. "Shall we help them out this once?"

"I… suppose so," Hanami sighed, fidgeting slightly. "We can't leave them behind after all…"

"I figured that would be the answer," Shiori said, getting a rag ready to help her brother and her friend. "Just remember… we don't do this for them the next time."

"You mean we were supposed to do this for them after this time as _well_?" Fubuki asked sarcastically.

Shiori opened her mouth to answer, only to pause before she could say anything. "You know… sarcasm doesn't befit you, Fubuki-chan," she eventually said.

Hanami, in spite of herself, giggled at the way her little sister was openly gaping. "C'mon, Fubuki," she said. "Let's get them ready to get back to class on time."

"Wait, really?" Fubuki asked, confused by the turn of events. "But a lady doesn't do this sort of thing…"

"I don't think our obaa-san is correct when it comes down to us that want to be Kunoichi, Fubuki," Hanami said, grabbing a rag as well. "In any case, we need to help them get this cleaned up."

"Wha… yes, Hanami-nee," Fubuki relented, grabbing a rag for her part in cleaning up the Hokage Monument. "I guess we need to clean this monument up as fast and as thoroughly as possible."

XxX

Moments before Iruka was due to show up, the quintet managed to finish the cleaning of the Hokage Monument. "Well… that went faster than I thought," Kagami said, clearly in a good mood. "Now then, when do you think Iruka-sensei's gonna show up?"

"Oh, _there_ you are!" a man's voice called out from near the Monument itself. "I was wondering where you five went, given your absence from class."

"Erk!" Naruto and Kagami let out.

"Hey, don't worry," Iruka, having stepped closer to them, said. "I know you use pranks to express yourself better, Naruto, Kagami, but you also need to worry about the fallout of the messes you make, especially since you have to maintain your honor somewhere along the line."

"Why not just use paint that… washes out the next time it rains or when someone… uses a water jutsu on it? It would be so… much easier…" Fubuki panted as she leaned against the side of the monument, tired from helping with the cleaning.

Silence fell on the group for what felt like half an hour.

"Honestly…" Naruto started, before he palmed his forehead. "I don't believe it… we messed up _big time_, Kagami-chan!"

"Why didn't we think of that!?" Kagami groaned as she kneaded her head. "That would have saved us so much more time… time that can be spent planning our next—"

***CRASH!***

"ITAI!" Kagami yelped out loud when Hanami chopped her on the head.

"I'm not helping you clean up next time!" the blue-eyed one of the twins huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

Clearing his throat, Iruka said, "Well, I'm glad you are more than ready to come back to class. We're doing lessons on ninja theory right now."

"Urk, theory," Kagami made a face. "I don't really like theory… I'm more of a hands-on kind of person!"

A glare from Hanami got her twin to cower back slightly. "It's important, Kagami…" she groaned.

Before Naruto could do anything to express his dislike for theory, Shiori stomped on his foot, before grabbing his arm and preparing to run forward. "C'mon, Naruto-nii, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can practice the practical side of the ninja life!"

"ACK! Slow down for a bit, Shiori-nee!"

* * *

><p><em>Ruins of Uzushiogakure…<em>

A young-looking girl with blonde hair started waking up from the cryogenic slumber she put herself in. Barely aware of the time and the date because of the cryogenic slumber device she was in, she wondered if her home had managed to survive the invasion attempt, one that she had barely managed to avoid at this point… before she quashed that thought. She was unable to connect with the mainframe that told her any relevant information about the situation from her cryo pod, which meant that there was nobody around to maintain the place, and that was a bad thing.

_'__Wh… what happened to Uzushio?'_ the girl thought, even as she heard noise from outside the tube she was in. _'And who's there?!'_

"Well well well, this is quite a nice find…" a male voice she was distinctly unfamiliar with spoke from outside the tube.

_'__What…? Who's outside?'_ the girl continued to think, before her eyes started to flutter open.

"Boss! We got a nice gem here!"

"Hehe, she's a little young, but nothing a few years won't fix…"

_'__Wh… what's going on?!'_ the girl questioned inside her head. It was then that her eyes opened for the first time in what amounted to forever for her. Her first thought after opening her eyes was… _'Someone broke the cryogenic slumber device!'_

Standing there in front of her was a large, scarred, burly man in makeshift leather armour, holding a large scimitar in his hand. He was grinning at her lewdly, which reminded her of the condition she had initially been in before she stepped into the device.

_'__Great...'_ she groused internally. _'I just _knew_ that I should've been dressed before I got in here!'_

"So… little girl, I assume you know what this means for you?" the man chuckled as he sheathed his scimitar and took a step closer to her, causing her to shirk back in disgust.

"Um… no?" the girl answered nervously.

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" the man chuckled ominously even as a group of his men appeared, flanking him. "I believe she needs some… education, doesn't she?" he jerked his head towards the girl, to the grins of his men.

"Ugh…" the girl groused. "I'm a bit too young for you… don't want you to be seen as lolicons."

"No, no, we're not talking about that," the leader of the raiders shook his head. "Young slaves fetch a good price on the market these days, you know? Especially if they're girls…"

The girl was about to say something else, but her mind finally caught up with the words that the raider said. "Wha… what?" she let out.

"You, girl, are coming with us, got it?" the leader bent down to meet her at eye level and winked at her ominously. "I have to say, I never expected to run into a girl like you while raiding Uzushio's ruins, though… but whatever. Goods are goods."

The girl took only a brief second to come up with a suitable answer. "I'm sorry, but I'm already someone else's property," she said.

Blinking, the leader looked rather surprised by her answer, before his evil grin came back. "Well, I'm sorry, but that's old news now," he stepped forward and made to grab at her.

"Don't. Move."

The leader froze mid-grab, and slowly began to turn around only to be stopped when he felt the sharp edge of a blade pressing against his neck. Behind him, he could hear several thuds from what sounded like soft bodies hitting the ground. "Who're you?" he growled out, knowing he was most likely alone now. Even so, he stealthily prepared the backup knife he had under his jacket.

"I am not inclined to give my name to a man who is about to die in the next few seconds, like you are," the owner of the voice said, before pulling the blade along the neck.

The raider didn't even get the chance to object as he slumped, his precious life fluid leaking out from the cut. After a few moments of fruitlessly trying to stem the flow, he collapsed to the ground, dead.

The blonde girl looked at her savior, and gasped in delight. "Mika! I'm so glad to see you after all this time!"

"Yamiko-sama, it is good to see you. Are you hurt?" a young-looking 'girl', with blue hair and burgundy eyes, wearing a pair of shinobi sandals, black pants and a black overcoat, asked as she stepped forward into the light radiating from the wrecked cryogenic slumber device, looking emotionlessly at the blonde.

Kagekiri Yamiko shook her head. "No, I'm not, my dear creation," she said. "In fact, if it weren't for your timely intervention, I'm sure I'd be worse off than having a wounded pride." Stepping out of the device, she looked around, before asking, "Did you prepare the clothes for when I got out?"

"Yes, I did," Mika nodded and pointed at the large chest beside the machine Yamiko had woken up in. "I have also taken the liberty of placing your weapons and armour inside. The chest is covered in stasis seals, so they should not have degraded since you were put to sleep."

Yamiko blinked, before she said, "Oh, um… thank you, Mika." After carefully maneuvering around the corpses, she got the chest open and pulled out an outfit, one that she saw was one of many copies of the same outfit. "Er… _why_ do I have more than one copy of the same outfit?"

"Are you not supposed to, Yamiko-sama?" Mika blinked in confusion, not quite understanding the need for several different outfits.

"Er… never mind," Yamiko said, getting dressed in her knee-length black, red, blue and white dress, her detached sleeves, her blue beret, and her black ninja sandals. "I suppose it doesn't matter. Well… what do you know of the outside world?"

"I have not been outside since you entered your slumber, Yamiko-sama," Mika replied emotionlessly, glancing at the raiders. "It has not been safe in the ruins of our village, even several years after the war."

"About that… what _happened_ to our home?" Yamiko asked, clearly uneasy about the whole thing. "I'm the only child of Uzu's Daimyou, so I need to know…"

"We were attacked by a combined force of ninjas from Kumo and Kiri about thirty years ago," Mika explained. "Uzu was overwhelmed by the attackers, but not without inflicting significant casualties to the other belligerents. Any remaining Uzumaki have since scattered to the winds."

With a gasp, Yamiko clasped her hands over her mouth. "No… it can't be!"

Mika nodded sadly. "It is regrettable, but the years have not been kind to Uzushio. While most of the Uzumaki treasures remain untouched due to our protections, raiders such as these have made off with most of the valuables remaining in the village above. The buildings are in deplorable condition, and it will take a significant amount of manpower to repair everything back to what it once was."

Yamiko felt a stream of tears flow from her eyes at that. "Our home… desecrated just like that!" she sobbed.

"If it's any consolation, Yamiko-sama," Mika said a few seconds later, getting her creator's attention, "I have up to date info on who is still alive from the Uzumaki clan, including your best friend."

Yamiko blinked in the middle of her crying. "You do?" she asked.

"Yes, I do," Mika nodded.

It was at that moment when Yamiko glomped Mika. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou THANK YOU!"

"Do not mention it, Yamiko-sama," Mika just stood still, a little unsure of how to respond to the sudden hug.

Blinking again, Yamiko released her creation from the hug and asked, "Don't you know what to do in response to hugs?"

"Yamiko-sama, what is a 'hug'?" her creation cocked her head to one side in confusion.

Silence reigned supreme for about fifteen seconds, as Yamiko tried to come up with an acceptable explanation for her creation. "Um… sorry, I don't know how to answer that properly."

"Forgive me for my lack of awareness regarding social customs, Yamiko-sama," Mika bowed in apology. "It appears that knowledge was never passed on to me during my life."

Giggling, Yamiko said, "Don't worry, Mika. I'm here to help make sure you get aware of the customs, at the very least." At that moment, a thought hit her. "What happened to my best friend, by the way?"

"She was sent to Konoha to help contain her… furry little friend, as she worded it to me," Mika replied, tilting her head in slight confusion at the term the girl had used. "It happened before Uzushio was destroyed. She should still be in Konoha."

Yamiko blinked. She blinked once more. And blinked again. "She's in Konoha? Well, at least she's safe, right?" It was at that point when she thought of something. "I think now would be the time to go visit her, at least. Could you help me get things ready, Mika?"

"Of course, Yamiko-sama," Mika nodded.

* * *

><p><em>Back in Konoha…<em>

Naruto was bored beyond belief as he waited in his mother's office.

After class had gotten out, Naruto had been about to head home to the Uzumaki compound when an ANBU showed up, having a scroll for him to read. After Naruto accepted the scroll, the ANBU disappeared, even though it wasn't to hide from him… the truth was, Naruto could easily find an ANBU agent whenever he was in need of company outside of his family, and that said something.

Anyway, the scroll had, in laymans terms, said, "Please head for the Hokage Tower at the earliest possible convenience. Your mother has something to tell you."

So, here he was, waiting for his mother.

"Bored bored bored bored…" Naruto began muttering as he paced the room, drumming his feet along the way. "I wonder what okaa-san needs me for anyway?"

With nothing to do, and his mother nowhere in sight, he decided to give himself a little treat - he looked around the room for a few more moments, before he snuck behind his mother's desk and climbed into it. "I shall claim this chair as my own one day!" he declared out loud to no one in particular.

He could almost hear the crickets chirping in his immediate vicinity.

"Why am I talking to myself anyway?" he slumped onto the desk with a loud thud and started drumming his fingers on the surface of the table, although it rapidly built up to a loud staccato. "THIS IS STILL BORING! WAY TOO BORING!"

Mere moments after he said that, he heard something fall out from the bottom of the desk, prompting him to stop drumming his fingers and sit up straight. "The fudge?" he asked nobody in particular. "What was that?"

Looking around, he found the item that fell out from underneath the desk, which looked like a box that was large enough to hold scrolls in it. "Huh? What could be in here?" he wondered aloud, before his face brightened up. "Maybe there's some kind of super-secret high-level jutsu scroll inside?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Naruto opened up the box, revealing a few scrolls resting inside. "I knew it!" he practically yelled out in excitement as he pulled one of them out and unrolled it. As he read it, however, he began to scratch his head and stare at it in confusion. "This isn't a jutsu scroll…" he muttered. After all, what kind of jutsu scroll had 'Marriage Contract' written at the top?

It was only when he got to whom the scroll was detailing that he figured it out. "Wait a minute! I'm engaged to Hanami-chan?!"

Looking at the scrolls in the box, he opened them all to see who they were for, before he realized that… "N-no way! I'm engaged to Kagami-chan, Fubuki-chan, Hinata-san, Ino-san and Sakura-chan?!"

Taking several steps backwards, he almost dropped the box in shock - sure, he had always liked the idea of getting married, but… to not just one, but _six_ girls at once!? That was a bit too much! Not to mention he hadn't even gotten to choose who he wanted to marry! And he was still only 10 years old, he still needed more time to decide!

"Please tell me that there's nothing in here for adding more to the list…" he muttered weakly, before he found a final scroll. "Please don't be a marriage contract…"

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found a storage scroll, although there was nothing on it to indicate what was inside. Whatever it was, he just hoped it wasn't more marriage contracts. He had seen enough of them for a day. Hell, for a lifetime even! He hurriedly put everything back into the box and tried to put it back where he had found it, but it seemed to have been sealed before and he had no idea how to work it.

"This is bad…" Naruto said after a few tries. "I can't just leave it out in the open… I have to take this out with me!" With that, he rushed over to the door with the box in hand, leaving the way he came.

Not entirely sure where to go, he decided to just head towards the Hokage Monument and mull things over on his father's head - maybe then he'd be able to think of what to do. Leaving the Hokage Mansion, he rushed out onto the streets and ran towards the mountain that dominated a good portion of Konoha's landscape, weaving through the crowds and eliciting a few yells from surprised pedestrians.

He made it as far as the park before he ran into some slight trouble. Just as he was about to enter it, he literally ran smack into one of the people he didn't particularly feel like seeing at the moment.

"Ow!" a familiar voice yelped when he crashed into a soft body, knocking the owner over and sending both of them tumbling to the ground in a pile.

"Ugh… my head," Naruto complained, rubbing his head. "Who did I… ACK! Fubuki-chan!"

"Eh, Naruto-kun?" another familiar voice spoke from off to the side, causing him to turn to look at the source… and immediately blanch. Standing there were two of the other girls mentioned in the marriage contracts - the two silver-haired Yukikaze twins. "Are you running because you pulled another prank again?" Hanami asked.

"Aaaah! Don't tell me you went and pranked someone and didn't invite me along!" Kagami gasped, glaring daggers at Naruto.

Instead of answering, Naruto picked himself and the box he was carrying up, and bolted towards the Hokage Monument in a different direction.

"Owowow… what just happened?" he could hear Fubuki whimper in pain, rubbing the back of her head as she climbed to her feet. He felt a little bad about it - ugh, he'd just apologize later! Right now he needed to hide the box!

* * *

><p><em>With the sisters…<em>

"What's got him so worked up?" Kagami huffed, putting her hands on her hips as she stared in the direction that Naruto had just left in. "We're just out for a walk and he barrels right into Fubuki and leaves without even an apology!"

"Something probably happened to him…" Hanami mused, staring at where Naruto had crashed into her little sister, and channeling chakra to her eyes for a moment. Her irises elongated, appearing to become the arms of a clock for a moment before they began to spin counterclockwise. After a short moment, she blinked, cut off the flow and her eyes reverted to normal. "No good, I can't see far enough back to tell."

"He looked… distressed… ow…" Fubuki hissed, rubbing her butt where she had fallen on it. She was most definitely demanding an apology from the blonde after everything was over!

"Wanna go after him?" Kagami looked at Hanami pleadingly.

Hanami just nodded - they had been friends with him since childhood. If they didn't at least try to figure out what was going on with him, what kind of friends would they be? "Come on, we can't beat him in speed or stamina, but we all know where he goes if anything bad happens anyway."

As one, the three silverettes turned to look at the Hokage Monument, specifically at the giant bust of the Yondaime's head.

XxX

After a short bit, the sisters managed to make it to the bust of the Yondaime's head before Naruto, leaving them to wonder…

"Where the heck did he go?" Kagami blinked as she shaded her eyes with a hand and scanned the area around them, finding nothing.

"Maybe we got here... earlier than he did?" Fubuki suggested, also looking around in confusion as she leaned against a tree and took deep gulps of air..

Hanami was panting too hard to say anything, being the most out of shape of the three sisters. In fact, she was splayed out on the ground in exhaustion.

"…I hope I lost them… but… ACK!" Naruto's voice could be heard from near the top of the monument. "How'd you _do_ that?!"

"Naaaruuutooooo!" Kagami rushed over to Naruto and put him into a headlock before he could say anything, quickly dragging him over to the rest of the girls before releasing him, but keeping a firm grip on his shoulder so he wouldn't try to run away. "What was all that about just now?"

"What are… you… oh, crap! I'm sorry, Fubuki-chan! I didn't mean to knock you down on the ground like that!" Naruto quickly got out, bowing in apology.

"Before you… apologize… what happened to you?" Fubuki asked, still trying to catch her breath.

Naruto quickly realized he couldn't get out of this, nor could he lie his way out. With that in mind, he said, "I discovered something that might change our dynamic, guys… and possibly not in the good way."

The three sisters shared looks of confusion for several moments. "What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Kagami asked, before she looked at the box Naruto was holding. "Does it have something to do with what's inside that?"

"Yeah, it does," Naruto admitted. "I found a few marriage contracts that were meant for me with a few different females in Konoha… including you three."

Hanami lifted her head up to stare incredulously at Naruto, even as her cheeks started to turn a bright red. Moments later, she slumped back onto the ground in a dead faint. Kagami and Fubuki just stared agape at the blonde, similar but less intense blushes colouring their cheeks. The former raised a shaking finger and pointed it at Naruto, and then at herself and her sisters. When he nodded, she just blinked repeatedly.

"Pinch me, Fubuki," Kagami muttered. "Ow. Not a dream."

"I just… I duuno… I just wish life was more simple that this," Naruto said, getting the attention of the awake girls. "I don't want to be forced to marry anyone so young… or at all, for that matter."

"We-Well… actually…" Kagami was being uncharacteristically shy as she squirmed and tried to avoid looking at Naruto. "W-Why don't you give it a chance first?"

A blushing Fubuki elaborated, "Contracts li-like these usually won't ask you to… seal the deal until you get older anyway…"

"Eh?" Naruto let out briefly. "Really? I didn't know that…"

"Still… why us?" Kagami sighed, before looking at Hanami and the happy grin she was sporting on her sleeping face. "Although she doesn't seem to mind it..."

"Honestly…?" Naruto asked with a sigh of his own. "I have no idea."

"Well, don't tell her I told you, but she's had a-" Kagami didn't manage to finish her sentence before Hanami suddenly woke up and practically shunshin'ed over to her twin sister and covered her mouth. "Mmmmph!"

"Don't you dare tell him!" Hanami hissed, before looking at Naruto for but a second before she turned away, blushing madly.

"Eh? Don't tell me what?" Naruto asked, surprised at Hanami's move.

"Ah… uh… that is…" Hanami struggled to find the words she needed to not express what she was feeling, before she gave up. "It's nothing, it's nothing!" she hurriedly shouted out.

"Perhaps I should shed some light on the matter?" a familiar adult female voice spoke up from nearby, causing everyone else to look in surprise to see Naruto's mom on the bust of her own head.

* * *

><p><em>With Kushina…<em>

Kushina wished her son could have found out about the matter from her own mouth, but she had to hand it to him, he was far too intelligent. With a sigh, she stepped off her own head (how weird that sounded) and walked up to the kids slowly, making sure they could see she wasn't about to threaten any of them. Naruto himself was shaking slightly, probably at the thought of being punished for escaping with the box, but she wasn't about to do that to him.

"Ku-Kushina-san!" Hanami blurted out in surprise.

"At ease," Kushina replied, intending to calm them down.

"Kushina-san, when were you and oka-san planning to tell us?" Kagami was a little more brazen, although she wasn't objecting particularly vehemently. "When was this arranged?"

"Actually, it was something your _otou_-san was going to tell you, since that was an agreement between he and Minato-koi," Kushina explained. "As it stood, I was only allowed to confirm the details after he told you, and, since Minato-koi is dead… well, Naruto needed to be more ready to handle this information."

"And the ones with Hinata-san, Ino-san and Sakura-san?" Fubuki asked.

With a sigh, Kushina said, "Hinata-chan was actually something of a promise between myself and her okaa-san, one that would let them choose whether or not to annul the contract if they chose to. Ino-chan was something of a case of her father being _extremely_ drunk and her mother having to reign him in before he pulled it off with a man too many years her senior. As far as Sakura-chan… well, that's the funny thing."

"Huh?" Naruto and the three sisters blinked as one.

"I don't suppose you know this, but the people currently raising Sakura aren't really her parents," Kushina explained. "As such… they're incapable of arranging the marriage between their daughter, who they adopted, and Naruto. However, there was _one_ incident which allowed it to happen, as far as I can understand it."

"Wait what, Sakura-san is adopted!?" Kagami gasped out loud, thinking of the quiet girl with the long pink hair reaching to the small of her back that never interacted with anyone in class. Come to think of it, she didn't have any form of resemblance to her parents at all...

"Exactly… though, the contract was written with a pen that, supposedly, had ink that would rearrange itself to account for whenever she went by her real name again," Kushina explained. "I'll have to make sure about that part later, on the off-chance she goes by a different name, though her real parents come from the Yagahara clan."

"I've never heard of that clan before…" Hanami mused, putting her finger to her lip in thought.

"Anyway, isn't this forcing a bit too much on Naruto-kun?" Fubuki drew their attention back to the issue at hand, looking at Naruto. "He's obviously not ready for this yet!"

Naruto, for his part, looked about ready to let steam come out of his ears from overworking his brain. Instead of that, however, he shook his head a bit. "Um… am I allowed to think on this for a few years?" he asked.

"Of course, Naruto," Kushina answered. "You deserve that much at least."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. We'll be fine with whatever you decide to do with it all," Kagami nodded and patted the blonde Uzumaki on his shoulder reassuringly, although she hesitated slightly. After that, she took a step back and started playing with a strand of her hair nervously. "Well, this is a little… awkward…" she confessed, blushing. It was a little hard trying to talk normally to a boy she was engaged to, for crying out loud!

"Yeah… it is," Naruto admitted, feeling even more awkward around _three _of said girls that he was engaged to.

"I guess… we need some time to wrap our minds around it too…" Fubuki sighed, shaking a little at the idea of getting married to Naruto herself, alongside her sisters. "Can we just… act like the contract doesn't exist for now?" she suggested. "I don't want to drift away from you because of all this, Naruto-kun."

Blinking, Naruto said, "Um… sure. I can understand that much, Fubuki-chan."

"It… it's still so hard…" Hanami whispered, looking at Naruto and trying not to look at him at the same time, through her blush. She still couldn't get the image of the two of them in formal kimonos at a wedding ceremony… ah… the sky was suddenly getting so bright…

*THUMP*

"There she goes again," Kagami shook her head at the form of her collapsed twin.

"Can you blame her?" Naruto asked. "She probably had an embarrassing mental image in her mind."

"Hanami-nee does have that stupid grin on her face again…" Fubuki knelt down beside her unconscious sister and started poking her cheek. Indeed, Hanami was grinning like the cat that had gotten the cream.

With a sigh, Kushina said, "Come on, let's get back to the village at large, everyone."

* * *

><p><em>Slaver camp in the Land of Fire…<em>

"Alright, little girl, time to check if you have any _power_ in you," the resident ninja in a group of slavers said with a nasty sneer to a young-looking girl with blonde hair in drill shapes and blue eyes. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing from this."

The young-looking girl, meanwhile, was glaring at the slaver of a ninja and mentally kicking herself. _'Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!'_ she thought. _'How could I have _fallen_ for this trap?! I was headed for the East from the southwestern region, but _this_ happened! I was merely eating a tiny morsel when it turned out to be spiked with something akin to fast-acting Melatonin for beings like me, plus it was an artificial being, to boot!'_

The situation was pretty grim, so to speak. For the most part, the girl was found by this group of slavers outside of their camp and bound with chakra-enhanced rope before she had woken up. That, plus the fact that she was stripped to her underwear beforehand, wasn't a pretty picture for her.

Then again, this ninja slaver was probably her one ticket to salvation, especially if she could manipulate the situation.

Oblivious to the girl's thoughts, the ninja performed a dozen hand seals that led to him softly uttering, "Iryojutsu: Reiniku Bunkai." With that, he placed a palm to the girl's head, as if taking her temperature… all before he almost immediately retracted his hand. Shaking his hand around a bit, he performed a flurry of three dozen hand seals, all before he balled up his hand into a fist and punched the girl in the stomach. "Fuuinjutsu: Chakra Genkai!" he cried out at that instance.

The girl cried out in pain, even as a seal that looked like a series of interlocking chains appeared all around her torso, severely limiting the amount of energy that could freely flow through her body at any given moment. If one were to put it into percentages, before getting her energy limited like it was, her current form gave her only about 75% of her total power. Now that she was limited by this, however, her power output was closer to 1.5%.

Still didn't mean she was as weak as her current form would suggest.

As the slaver ninja turned to get something, she saw her opening as he fumbled looking for what he wanted.

There was no time for the slaver ninja to react. One moment he was in control, the next he was coughing up blood. He managed to turn his head to see the little girl with her fist driven into his side, between the plates of his armor and into his body. As his vision began to fade in and out, he saw the little girl smile a deadly smile. He had seen that kind of smile before.

On the face of that monster from Suna.

Then, he began to lose his balance. The blood loss was high and yet… He really didn't feel it. Now that he processed that, he realized he was going numb or was already numb. His vision was now seriously swimming wildly, but he managed to catch one last glimpse of something.

Something terribly important.

The little blond girl's shadow was that of an irate nine tailed fox.

Then he heard the gush of blood and saw the liquid life juice on the girl's hand.

"What was that?" another slaver entered, curious and worried that the "OH SH-"

He never finished. In a fluid motion as the slaver ninja fell dead, the girl grabbed one of his tools and threw it with such force that the slaver guard's head was stapled to the back wall. The back of the skull gave a gut wrenching sound as it was crushed in.

Another guard cried out at seeing the death, alerting others that ran in. But each and everyone died a bloody death. The lone survivor on his knees with wide eyes, soiling himself as he began to hyperventilate. He saw the girl approach. She had nothing in her hands and yet with a careless flick of her wrist, his head exploded.

"So weak," the girl huffed as she heard others calling out in alarm, "Even more so than usual."

And the slaughter had only just begun.

Next she entered the main tunnels and was met by two oblivious slaver grunts unaware of the true gravity of the situation. They both saw her and that's all they needed to know. The seals on her were still quite clear and visible for anyone to seal.

What they didn't know though, was that she had more than sufficient power as the two went to grab her for her to grab them and pull them together with enough force that their skulls shatter upon each other.

Leaving the two to slowly die, the rather irate Nine Tailed Fox continued on her. She immediately found a half dozen others preparing to move cages seemingly overcrowded with young girls and boys onto an ironbottom steam skiff sitting in an underground dock. She was, again, immediately spotted by another four who she had failed to notice.

When one of those men tried to grab her, she caught one hand and pulled hard enough to dislocate the arm. The man screamed in pain as she jumped onto his head and the gen gave a mighty push to leap off of him and flip through the air to land on the skiff. The man she had leapt off died as his head exploded from contact with the ground, spraying blood and gore all over the place.

The crew of the small skiff immediately tried to grab, having failed to see what happened to the man on the dock. Immediately, the fox girl stuck out, punching one man hard enough in the chest to shatter his bones and rupture his organs as he was sent flying down the skiff's length, bowling over his comrades, to fly into the water. Another was elbowed in the hip, the bone shattering and causing him to drop in pain. The fox girl grabbed his head and spun it to snap the neck and flip the man into one of his compatriots who died when his jaw was driven into his brain from a snap kick that launched the remains into another crewmember, whose head was was caved in by one of the loading davits.

Two men immediately pulled back. Realizing that they were dealing with something more dangerous. Perhaps an unknown Jinchuriki. They backed up as another foolishly tried to net the girl only for his trap to fail as he became entangled in the net and was thrown overboard to drown.

The girl was no fool. The men were measuring their steps back and aligning themselves with a placement that would put her between two hatches. One to the interior of the skiff and the other to the pilot house. She mentally rolled her eyes as they carelessly checked to see if she was in position.

She kicked the first person to try and ambush her from the pilot house back into it and spun, leaping off the wall to avoid an opponent with restraint seals in both hands. She landed on some crates that she noticed were full of clothing, many sizes too small for the men and carefully packed away with a legitimate shipping label on them to a number of places, including an orphanage, hospital, and clothing stores.

She didn't need to be a genius to figure out the seals hidden in each were used to mark potential targets.

When several nets were thrown at her to catch her, she simply flared her power and sent the heavy nets back to their owners, before jumping over to the controller of a crane and kicking him down a flight of steps where he tumbled into the water. Though he came back up, he was between a piling and the skiff which drifted right into him, crushing him against the piling.

A quick throw of a switch and the men caught in the nets were hauled up before the fox girl then rotated it, while beating off two attackers, and hit another switch which dropped the entangled men into the water where they too would drown.

Then she turned to her attackers, who tried to spear her with loading hooks. Instead, she dodged the hooks, then grabbed them, and then pulled with considerable strength to knock her opponents off balance before driving the shafts of the loading hooks into both men and out their backs. She then simply tossed them both into the water.

"Prepare to fire!" the skiff captain shouted as the remaining crew readied their crossbows.

They never got the chance as the crane swung around at that moment and bowled them all over.

The fox girl then gave a powerful jump again, shattering the crane's supporting structure from the energy she imparted and causing it to topple over. As it did so, it fell onto the skiff, crushing or trapping the men. The girl easily landed on the other side of the pier and walked away as the crane fell into the water, the boom pulling the still living men in with it and catching them in its lines and remaining netting.

A lone guard then tried to strike her over head with a sword, only for her to dodge, kick out and shatter his knee, take the sword from his hands, and then slash him in two from head to crotch.

She then threw the sword, pinning another guard to a support beam, knocking over an oil lateran and catching him on fire.

She ignored the screams of terror and pain as she went looking for her next victim.

XxX

Stuffed into their cages, into their cells, held by chains and thicks ropes. Imprisoned by powerful seals and fear for their lives, the children merely watched. Watched as their tormentors were slain one by one. Sometimes in droves, at others by twos or threes. Some were killed in small or large groups, but they all died the same.

Brutally by one little blonde girl.

Behind her, she threw out the shadow of a fox with nine tails. Some had heard of such a beast. It had attacked one of the most powerful ninja villages and lost. But this one couldn't be it.

She was so powerful even when entrapped by the same seal they all wore.

So powerful and ruthless.

She took the lives of the slavers without hesitation. She invoked fear and terror in their once mocking, laughing eyes so full of greed. She was taking by force what they had stolen with seals…

Her freedom and future.

And they were enamored by it.

Men that were many times bigger than her. Men so much bigger than normal men. Men so huge they were walking mountains.

Men she killed with little to no effort, sometimes mockingly so.

So it was to this little blond girl's surprised when the others called out to her. Called out to her to teach them. To lead them. To be strong like her. To grasp their own future with their own hands they wanted to be by her, live for her, learn from her, and follow her.

Then she smiled and simply said…

"Yes."

* * *

><p><em>Back in Uzushiogakure…<em>

Yamiko was busy packing the rest of her things into storage scrolls when she found something that was odd about her things… namely, there was a scroll that was left out for one reason or another. Deciding to see what the scroll was about, she picked it up and opened it. Almost immediately, her eyes widened, as the scroll contained a message from someone who she never saw much of…

…her own father.

_To my precious Yamiko,_

_I'm sorry for holding so much back from your inquisitive mind, I truly am,_

_but there are some things which I was under obligation not to say to you at all._

_Now that you are currently in cryogenic slumber, I am no longer under said obligation,_

_and I can share this via a message before I get called back._

_Enclosed in this scroll is a second scroll and a code master's book, which will both allow you_

_to learn the truth, my daughter. Once you have the second scroll and the book, please, destroy_

_the scroll this message is on. I don't want you to be left without a clue as to what's going on…_

_but, if you don't destroy this message, you might awaken a wrath like never before._

_Please, be safe,_

_Kagekiri Haruto_

Tears started to flow freely from her eyes, even as she found the second scroll and the code master's book in the storage part of the scroll. With this last note from her father, she was bound to learn the truth of what he had been doing all the time. In fact, it felt like yesterday, when she was called to his study for what was the last time…

_"__You wanted to see me, otou-sama?" Yamiko asked upon arriving in her father's study._

_Turning his chair around to face his daughter, Kagekiri Haruto, a man with auburn hair and green eyes, wearing the robes a daimyou was supposed to wear, said, "Ah, Yamiko. I'm glad you came as requested. Please, have a seat." When she took a seat across from him, he said, "I must apologize for denying you the truth of all the things you asked about. I know it hurts you to not know the truth, but I fear you aren't ready for it, not yet."_

_"__Eh?" Yamiko let out. "When will I be ready, otou-sama?"_

_Haruto sighed, even as he prepared for what could possibly be the hardest time of his life. "I fear that might never come as of now, Yamiko… but, not to worry, I promise you, and only you, will find the truth before too long."_

_Blinking, Yamiko asked, "You mean it?"_

_"__Yes, I do," Haruto answered. "The main thing is that the truth will be coded in such a way that only someone with the appropriate key will unravel it." With that, he stood up, asking, "Now… aren't you supposed to test your cryogenic slumber device in three days?"_

_"__Ah!" Yamiko exclaimed. "You're right! I better finish the schematics for the testing phase!"_

_With a hearty chuckle, Haruto said, "That's my girl… be prepared for anything."_

_"__I will," Yamiko answered, heading off when her father waved her to go._

It was a moment of nostalgia, especially since the letter reminded her of what she had missed out on, knowing what happened to her family.

"How many more must lose their lives to senseless wars?" she asked the air around her.

* * *

><p><em>Back in Konoha…<em>

Naruto was confused about what to do. Mere moments after getting to his home, he was going to go inside, when he heard someone crying.

"Who's there?" he called out, walking away from the door to his house and heading out towards the gates to look outside. As he did, he heard a breath hitch, before the crying stopped.

"Na… ruto-san, is that you?" the sad owner of the voice asked from next to the other side of the gate.

Naruto blinked. That was a voice he had rarely, if ever heard before. He opened the gate a notch to confirm the identity of the person, and blinked when he spotted a certain pink-haired girl outside, leaning against the wall surrounding his house. "Sakura-chan?"

"Oh… I'm so glad… you know who I am," Haruno Sakura said in relief. "I was getting worried, considering that my parents act like I'm not even there… I needed proof that I exist, and am not a figment of people's imagination."

"That's… quite extreme," Naruto scratched his head, wondering if it was really that bad. That being said, he couldn't stand seeing her in a condition like that, so he definitely needed to do something...

"It may seem extreme… but it's the truth," Sakura answered. "I joined the Ninja Academy to help stand out… not to blend in with the faces."

Naruto had to wonder exactly how a girl with _pink hair_ could blend in with the other faces, but he continued anyway, "So what brings you to my house?"

"I was desperate…" Sakura replied. "I needed someone to acknowledge I exist, _anyone_! It might not seem much, but I need to be seen as real… not a figment of one's imagination."

"How do you go through life every day in that situation?" Naruto blinked, "It must be sad, and especially boring…"

"I… don't rightly know," Sakura said. "I think it's because my existence hasn't been fulfilled yet, but I'm not positive."

"You should cheer up more!" Naruto exclaimed, starting to think before an idea lit up his head. "Let's go to the playground!"

"The… playground?" Sakura asked, her curiosity piqued. "Why there?"

"Well, you need to cheer up, and what better place to cheer up at than the playground!?" Naruto declared, grabbing Sakura's hand and setting a brisk pace towards the playground.

"H-hey! Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sakura asked, concern filling her voice.

"Since when is going to the playground ever not a good idea?" Naruto grinned exuberantly, looking back at Sakura. "You need to just let go of your worries and just have fun!"

"Have… fun?" Sakura repeated, before a small smile graced her lips. "You're right, Naruto-kun, I understand."

* * *

><p><em>Back at the former Slaver camp…<em>

Tama-chan looked over the maps of the continent she was on. She couldn't help but internally growl at her predictment. Sure, she had heard of dimensional rifts and what not, but honestly, she hadn't put much stock into them.

After all, it was often the work of some ex-human named Zerurec or something like that.

Someone not Japanese, that much she knew. He also apparently had a penchant for pranks or so they say. But if he did and decided to prank her with this little stunt, not only was his humor in very bad taste, she was going to kill the supposedly immortal ex-human when she came across him next.

Then, if he met her standards, have a nice luncheon of him thereafter.

But, back to the point, she didn't recognize any of the landmarks. None of the names made much sense to her either, but then again, she had been living in a culture that was borrowing quite heavily from the West. Though she had no complaints, honestly as a Japanese Fox Spirit she didn't.

English words also tended to be blunt and to the point which made communication both easier and more fun to come up with words for.

For now, though, she was in a land once called the Land of Fish. A truly stupid name if she had ever heard of one. But as she looked at the various names she felt one of her eyes begin to twitch. The names were plenty of something she _might _expect of the humans a few centuries ago. Maybe even further back. But at least it made it somewhat easier for her to remember them as she converted names to English format and lo and behold, they were so easy to remember, though they lost their poetic names, it was an acceptable change for ease of reminder.

From what she had been able to learn, Fish had been a country that fell during the closing period of the Second Shinobi War. How strange that was alone, but to think that ninja apparently had such abilities to slay one of her kind in open battle shouldn't surprise her. After all, she had been chasing after a slayer of her kind in the first place a while back. Until he chose that damn cat, but she wished them the best in any event.

Lifting up a piece of the map she was looking at, she studied it intently. There were arrows leaving certain points followed by circles at the end of those arrows. Drawn lines in other areas indicated pathways as opposed to the clearly 'Do Not Enter' areas of the encircled arrows. There were also other markings, she guessed several were for hidden ports, others for safe areas, some for 'market' places, and the rest, she was unsure of.

What could be said?

She may have been around for a while, but it wasn't like she kept current with black market map making either.

Still, she decided to pursue the maps in the hopes she could find a place to set up a base. The once former Land of Whirlpools looked like a good probable, but had a noted bandit and adventure problem. There was even a notation that a group of archeologists had gone missing. Well, too bad then.

The Land of Wave, though populated, looked like a good idea. But there was another notation that someone named Gato was interested in the place and to stay clear. That knocked that one out. Plus, it was near the Land of Fire and its ninja village… Wait… That's the village that supposedly killed one of her kind.

For now… No. Same with others near the rather larger villages. Which unfortunately meant most of everywhere. There were some desert ruins of some great kingdom from a decade or two ago, but the blond ruled those out. She was also especially not planning on deserts any time soon.

Damn sand always got where it wasn't supposed too.

And chafed once there.

Then she spotted one former land. It was largely depopulated and large swaths were abandoned by the remaining populace. The next door neighbor was also in the same rough shape, but there was mention of some leftovers from its village trying to rebuild, but they were more concentrated well away. The two lands were generally left alone and were only lightly governed as a result. Most of it in the pockets of various criminals…

"Perfect," Tama-chan purred like a fox as she smiled like one too.

The former Lands of Storm and Sky.

They were ideal to exactly what she wanted.

For now though, she would settled for the abandoned Sora-ku. A city largely uninhabited. It was located in the Land of Fire's range, likely from past battles it was used as a storage site. But currently… it looked promising and then, once she and her new followers were set, she would head on to what would become the Land of Foxes.

She giggled to herself as she reached to her left and took hold of a cup of some rather fine sake and then reaching over to her right as she partially transformed and took hold of a still living slaver who could only watch in horror as her mouth widen so widely and if he still had his vocal cords, people would be hearing his screams for years to come as Tama bit down, taking a large chunk out of his right side as she ate her dinner for the evening.

Several of her new followers watched in silence as they ate their own meals of rice, fish, and vegetables.

She told them it was better for them.

If not for her needs, she wouldn't even be licking one of the filthy slavers.

Even as she ate the slaver, a wicked idea came to her mind and she toyed briefly with the man's sexuality before slowly and literally eating it away much to his terror before pain and blood loss caught up to him and he finally died.

Once Tama had finished her meal, she reverted to her child form of Tama-chan and began to drink and heavily.

"Thuck!" she made a sound trying to clear out her mouth. "Blavers blways baste bad."

Good thing they were would be leaving soon.

As she was certain that the plumbing would be completely destroyed by the time she finished all the slavers.

* * *

><p><em>In the wilds around Konoha…<em>

In the woods around Konoha… there was a rustle of leaves being stepped on, branches getting crushed, and more. Not only was this sort of action unexpected, the local wildlife was proving to be incapable of doing such things, even to the point of toppling down trees.

Many who had seen the creatures that had invaded would ask what they were… moments before they were forced to fight for their lives. Not a good thing for those who wanted their lives intact.

It was one of these creatures, one that looked like a wolf, that started sniffing around for food. It was a lot on the big side, and the wolf had tasted all sorts of flesh, along with the pack and the two additions that came with them. It was hungry… and most of the flesh it tasted was useless to satiate it.

The main choice left… was human flesh.

Yes… human flesh was easy to come by, and was plenty nutritious, especially for one of its kind. So much so… the wolf decided to search for food to gather for its pack.

Humans were incredibly tricky, after all, so they needed to be at full strength to kill any humans in the way.

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Okay, first chapter is now done! It is now… *checks clock* 0018 on 1130/2014, and I'm about ready to call it a day. Perhaps I'll post this when I'm more alert?**

**…****nah.**

**Well, in any case, the reason this chapter was done faster than expected was because of all the imported scenes I had to pull in from the previous version of the story. Simple as that. Now… Astral would like to say a word or so to you guys.**

* * *

><p><strong>AstralXYZ: So far so good. I think one of our problems with the penultimate version of this fanfic was that we didn't exactly talk about the background of some of the characters enough (especially the new Hinata), I think we managed to fix that this time around. I'm actually writing this through my final few weeks of the semester, so I was expecting all this to be a bit on the slower side. Heh, turns out it's faster instead. Anyway, back to Xamusel!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Well, to be fair, this wouldn't have been possible without the help of F-14 Tomcat Lover… or, more to the point, the help he provided prior to this version. Afterall, most of what was copied was done with his input, no more or less. Kudos to him for that much.<strong>

**Now… as I mentioned prior, there won't be a review corner until the end of each story arc in each book. That doesn't mean you shouldn't review with questions, mind you. Ask as many as possible… we'll get to you by the time they need to be answered.**

**Well… here's where I need to say… I'll see ya later! In fact, so will Astral, now that I think about it.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Xamusel: Okay, it's shortly before 0100 on 11/30/2014, and I am gonna hate myself for this, I just know it… but, I wish to get the chapter rolling out. With that in mind… we shall now get to the good part of this chapter: the content.**

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Book 0<em>**

**_Prologue Arc_**

**_Chapter 2_**

**_Trouble loves to cause misery_**

* * *

><p><em>Konoha Ninja Academy…<em>

"Man… what happened to cause us to be inexplicably early at first, but stuck nearly getting late to class?" Naruto asked his friends and sister, who had walked with him to class.

"It might have had something to do with a certain _someone _stopping to help almost every old lady with their grocery bags on the way here…" Kagami shot a glare at Naruto. "Just because it's market day today doesn't mean you need to go out of your way to do that, you know…"

"Hey, did you not _see_ that massive watermelon the old lady was carrying?!" Naruto protested. "She needed help with the groceries, at the least!"

Fubuki rolled her eyes at the ongoing discussion. "Naruto-kun, we get that you like helping people… but you're being waaaaay too kind…" she sighed as she checked the watch on Hanami's wrist.

Shiori looked at the watch, gaping for a bit. "Oh, crap! We need to skedaddle!" With that, she hurried up ahead, ignoring the others.

"Wa-Wait up!" Hanami called out, running after Shiori together with Fubuki.

Before Naruto could start running as well, Kagami stuck her foot out, causing him to trip over and crash into the ground head first, before she, too, ran after her siblings. "Last one into the class is a dunce!" she called out cheekily.

"HEY!" Naruto roared from his position on the ground, before he stood up and dusted himself off. "Now what…? Hmm… wait, I know!" With a hand sign, he performed the Shunshin technique, getting to class ahead of the others.

"Er, Naruto," a familiar male voice said from next to his seat. "Who taught you how to Shunshin?"

Naruto jumped slightly as he turned to face the person who had spoken. "Oh, it's just you, Sasuke," he muttered as he saw the familiar head of black, duck butt styled hair and the somewhat surprised expression on it. "Umm, I read a few scrolls from my oka-san's library?"

"Hmm… that sounds likely," Uchiha Sasuke answered. "Thanks for the info."

"Want me to teach you sometime?" Naruto grinned, tipping his chair backwards and leaning against the wall behind him. "Makes escaping after a prank so much easier."

"Hmm…" Sasuke pondered it for a while. "Yeah, I'd like that. Just tell me where we need to go to train for it."

"And you had better teach _us_ as well."

"Grk!" Naruto let out as he looked to see the siblings and his sister right next to him. "Er… how did you get here so fast?"

"We… ran…" Hanami flopped into her chair tiredly as her head slumped onto the table beside Naruto.

"That wasn't fair!" Kagami protested, glaring at Naruto.

"Look who's talking," Naruto countered, getting the sisters to look at him weirdly. "Kagami-chan tripped me up before I remembered I knew how to Shunshin."

"Lalalala, I can't hear anything~" Kagami started humming while covering her ears childishly. "Besides, you have a speed and stamina advantage over us, so you needed that handicap!"

"I rest my case," Naruto simply said. "Kagami-chan's a big cheater."

"Oi!" Kagami grumbled as she looked around her. When she realized everyone was staring at her as if she was indeed the culprit, she slumped. "Fine, fine! Pick on the poor defenseless little girl!" she threw her hands in the air, although everyone who knew her could tell she wasn't mad about it.

"Hey, Uzumaki," a male voice called out from near the front of the class. Turning their attention to the speaker, Naruto and Shiori saw it was one of the Inuzuka clansmen, Kiba. "I heard about the prank on the Hokage Monument. Did you _really_ have a hand in that?"

"Oii… co-prankster right here…" Kagami slowly raised her hand, trying to get Kiba's attention. "Naruto-kun always gets all the credit…"

"Eh? He does?" Kiba asked incredulously. "I knew he had help most of the time… didn't realize that you helped him this time."

Kagami recoiled as if struck by an arrow. "Grk. See what I mean!?" she moaned, slumping face first onto her desk in a similar position as her exhausted twin. "I feel so underappreciated."

"Well, in any case, congratulations, Yukikaze, Uzumaki!" Kiba exclaimed with two thumbs up. "I always wanted to do that for the stuff you two do."

"Hahah, you can always count on me to pull off a good prank!" Naruto grinned happily, bumping his fist against Kiba's. "Actually, if you want to help us with our next one, we'd appreciate the help…"

A loud 'hmph' sound came from a seat further in front, one that was occupied by a girl wearing a thick jacket with dark blue hair in a hime cut.

"You mean it?" Kiba asked, surprised by the offer. "If so, thanks! I'd appreciate the chance to—"

*WHACK!*

"Oh no, you don't!" a girl with long platinum blonde hair tied up in a ponytail muttered as she walked out from behind Kiba, withdrawing the knife hand she had hit Kiba on the head with. "Don't give him any ideas, Naruto-baka!" she leaned intimidatingly towards the other blonde.

With a wince, Naruto said, "You didn't have to hit him that hard, Ino-san…"

Kiba was currently out like a light on top of an adjacent desk, and was currently drooling on one of the other students' books, much to his disgust. There was also a white puppy sitting beside him nudging his head with a paw, trying to wake him up.

"It was either that, or deal with one more troublesome prankster in the class!" Ino glared at Naruto, jabbing at his chest with a finger. "Two of them are bad enough already!"

"How troublesome," a boy with his hair tied in a ponytail resembling a pineapple muttered, face down on his desk and apparently half-asleep.

"Yay, recognition!" Kagami cheered.

"I don't think she was doing it to give you recognition, Kagami-chan," Naruto said.

"I don't care~" the boisterous silverette sang happily. "I was recognized as a prankster~"

"Hanami-baka, don't just sit there resting like nothing happened!" Ino then glared at Hanami, who jerked awake almost instantly and looked around, before pointing a finger at herself in confusion. "Yes, you! Stop helping Naruto with his pranks!"

Kagami stared incredulously at the scene for a few moments, before she started banging her head on her desk. "Why!? Why!? Why!?" she complained, before she stood up and started shaking Ino roughly. "It was me! I was the one helping Naruto with his pranks, not Hanami! Just because we're twins…"

It was at that moment when a giant head appeared out of nowhere…

* * *

><p><em>Earlier…<em>

Iruka walked over to his class, making sure that there was nothing inherently wrong going on in the school halls, and got to the teacher's door. Opening it, he said, "Okay, class…" Upon looking around, he noticed that the class was all rowdy again, most noticeably from Naruto's part of the classroom.

"Okay… this is gonna require the big guns sooner than later," he muttered to himself. After preparing the giant head technique, he walked over to the center of the classroom and, after facing the students, yelled out, "EVERYONE GET IN YOUR SEATS!"

A massive cloud of dust engulfed Naruto's part of the classroom almost instantly. When it cleared, everyone was back in their proper seats, although Hanami was still looking rather confused, Ino looked a little shaken up, Kagami was muttering about lack of appreciation, and Kiba was… still unconscious, although he had somehow moved to his seat. The puppy following him was sitting perfectly straight on the table beside him.

"Um… shouldn't Inuzuka get medical treatment?" Iruka asked. "I mean, considering he's unconscious right now…"

Fubuki reached into a pocket and pulled out a small container of smelling salts. Before she could even wave it in front of Kiba, his nose twitched and he jerked awake clutching it. "GAAAAH! Dude, never do that to an Inuzuka!" he whimpered, rubbing at his nose in significant discomfort. "Our noses are super sensitive, you know!?"

"Okay, that answers that," Iruka said. "Now… let's take roll, shall we? Aburame Shino?"

"Present," a boy in a heavy coat with an afro adjusted his glasses.

"Akimichi Chouji?"

A fat boy with a scarf wrapped around his neck replied, "Here!" while eating and managed to spray half-eaten chips all over the student seated in front of him.

After a fair bit of the roll call…

"Hyuuga Hinata?"

"Present," the bluenette that had huffed at Naruto's antics earlier replied.

"Inuzuka Kiba?"

"Here…" Kiba was still trying to get the smell of the smelling salts out of his nose. The puppy with him had moved to rest on the top of his head, and was whining pitifully, having been hit by the same smell.

After Iruka went over a few more names…

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Here," Sasuke grunted out.

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

"You better believe I'm here!" Naruto shouted at the top of his voice, only to get simultaneously cuffed on the head by Kagami and Fubuki to get him to shut up.

Fubuki muttered, "Noisy."

"Yamanaka Ino?"

"I'm present!" Ino called back, still glaring at Kiba and Naruto.

"Yukikaze Fubuki?"

"Here," Fubuki replied curtly.

"Yukikaze Hanami?"

"Ah… here!" the blue-eyed silverette raised her hand.

"Yukikaze Kagami?"

"Over here!" the red-eyed waved from her seat.

"Okay, that accounts for everyone," Iruka said. "Now… let's be—"

At that moment, the door at the front of the classroom opened up, admitting the headmaster, the Hokage, and a new arrival. "We're so sorry about this, Umino-san," the headmaster said. "However, Hokage-sama managed to locate a new student to fill in your class roster, which still has a few holes in it."

"Eh?! Hokage-sama gave us a new classmate?" one of the random students asked.

"I thought our class was full enough already…" Hanami blinked.

"If you need her for something, make sure she doesn't stay long," Kushina said. "She's just settling into Konoha." With that, she headed off, presumably to her office.

"Um… well, I don't know why this class in particular," Iruka said, scratching his cheek, "but I don't see why not. Okay, could the new student please come to the board and write their name on it?"

The newcomer, a young girl with bright emerald green eyes and long blonde hair tied in a ponytail that hung down to her waist, strode up to the board and wrote her name down cheerfully. Once she was done, she spun around and grinned at the class. "I'm Kirigaya Suguha! I'll be studying with you guys from now on, so please take care of me!" she bowed to the other students.

Naruto blinked, and rubbed his eyes, before he leaned towards Hanami. "Are her ears… pointed?" he whispered.

Hanami nodded. The newcomer indeed had long, pointed ears for some reason. She was also wearing a strange cloak that seemed to be split into four, light and feathery sections. For some odd reason, she reminded the silverette of a fairy. And she wasn't the only one that had drawn the conclusion.

"How troublesome," the boy with the pineapple hair repeated his mantra.

"Alright, Nara," Iruka said, getting the boy's attention. "You feel that way? You don't have to sit with her next to you. Instead… how about… Naruto, could you let Kirigaya sit next to you?"

"Well, sure," Naruto blinked, casting a short glance at the empty seat adjacent to him.

Suguha nodded cheerily as she walked gracefully towards Naruto. "Thank you for having me!" she smiled at Naruto as he shifted forward to let her pass behind his chair.

"Ah, it's no problem," Naruto nodded back, watching as the fairy-like girl took her seat. He could've sworn he saw her cloak twitch by itself as she settled down...

"Okay, class, now we can get onto the lesson for today," Iruka said cheerfully. "Today's lesson is going to be on Konoha's alliance with Uzushio, which was dissolved with the destruction of the latter." A hand was raised. "Yes, Kirigaya?"

"Could you please elaborate on the whole concept of the ninja villages?" Suguha asked. "I've lived a good distance away from this continent until recently, so I don't know the details regarding them all that well."

Blinking, Iruka answered, "Oh, um, sure… well, the first ninja village was built about 70 years ago, though history seems to wonder whether the first village was Konoha or Kumo. The ninja villages were built to allow for multiple ninja clans to train together, and to get training methods made to teach the next generations, so that the Warring Ninja Clans era would never repeat. To elaborate on that—"

"You mean like the Sengoku Jidai?" Suguha asked. Upon getting strange looks, she elaborated, "Back where I'm from, there was a long era of Samurai fighting for supremacy to be known as ruler of the country, though that ended roughly 400 years before with the victory of the one known as Tokugawa Ieyasu. He united the whole country to be what it became today… though his family's control lasted until the Meiji era, which started when Emperor Meiji took the throne about 150 years ago."

"Ah, right, I see," Iruka nodded. "Yes, the Warring Ninja Clans era is like the Sengoku Jidai in that regard. Now… to get back to the lesson at hand…"

XxX

Naruto was getting bored… okay, maybe not a little bored, but so bored he would rather get some sleep in! He had already heard this lecture from his mother, so he didn't need to hear it from Iruka-sensei! It was nothing against the older man, but sometimes his lessons never stuck with Naruto… or most of the rest of the class.

"Naruto, don't fall asleep…" Hanami whispered without taking her eyes off Iruka.

"I can't… help it…" Naruto said drowsily. "Most of… the time… he bores… us to… sleep in… his class…"

"Is Naruto-san always like this?" Suguha blinked, pausing in her own note-taking.

"Especially in history class," Hanami nodded, before she gave Naruto a quick poke in the ribs.

"Ow!" Naruto let out in surprise. Turning to face Hanami, he noticed she was acting innocently. "Ugh… great. I can't get the truth out of you that easily…"

"Ara? What could you possibly be talking about?" the blue-eyed silverette sang in a faux-innocent tone.

"Never mind…" Naruto finished with a yawn. He attempted to put his head on the desk…

Another poke, slightly harder this time.

"Ouch!" Naruto let out, not sure why the surprise didn't wear off.

"So, Suguha-san, why did you move here to Konoha?" Hanami started holding a conversation with the newcomer, ignoring Naruto's yelp of pain.

"Well… it's not so much moving here to Konoha as it is being evicted from my continent by a strange means," Suguha answered. "I was playing a game, where I could do things I never could do outside of it, and… I found myself here, just as I was surrounded by a group of people masquerading as Salamanders."

"That sounds… incredible, Suguha-san," Hanami blinked. "And that would have to be a very advanced Henge, to be able to masquerade as mythical creatures…"

"Eh?" Suguha blinked in confusion. "Oh, no, it wasn't with a Jutsu… and the people were playing the part of a species of fairy _called_ Salamanders."

Hanami was trying to wrap her head around the newcomer's words, even as she gave a drowsy Naruto yet another poke in the ribs and ignored his pained yelp. "You mean to say that you're from another world where fairies really do exist?"

"Well… kinda," Suguha answered, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "My natural form is that of a normal girl with short black hair and ebon eyes… it's just that this form was supposed to be an older version of what it is now… an avatar of sorts. It wasn't supposed to become reality for me."

"It all sounds so incredible though…" Hanami mused. "But aren't you… scared? This should be a new world to you, right? And nobody else came along with you either."

"Who said I wasn't?" Suguha asked in return. "I… I just wish to be home again, home for when my older cousin wakes up from his coma." As she said that, tears filled her eyes, saying, "I miss Kazuto-onii-chan!"

"D-Don't cry!" Hanami patted the other girl on the back softly by reaching around Naruto. "I'm sure we can find a way for you to go back eventually… After all, Konoha was the first Hidden Village to develop Jikukan ninjutsu!"

"Jikukan ninjutsu?" Suguha asked, blinking her tears away. "What's that?"

"My otou-san mastered the Hiraishin, a jutsu that allows the user to instantly travel through time and space," Naruto groaned, deciding he had enough of Hanami's constant poking. "It's the first ever, and so far only jutsu that affects time-space. Oka-san showed me the formula for it, but I still can't wrap my head around it yet."

Blinking, Suguha said, "Wow… nice! I think I might need to learn how to modify it properly!"

"Suguha-san, I'm not sure how my otou-san did it, and it's still going to take me years to reverse engineer it," Naruto frowned, looking at the front to make sure Iruka wasn't watching them. "In the meantime, why don't you just stay with us and at least learn to be a ninja?"

"Um…" Suguha started to say.

"Okay, class, it's about time for lunch break," Iruka interrupted the conversation. "Please be advised that fights outside of the standard curriculum are to be avoided during this time."

At that moment, the lunch bell sounded, signalling class to come to an end.

* * *

><p><em>During the lunchrecess period…_

"I see you managed to stay up during the class, Naruto," Sasuke smirked at the blonde prankster.

"Shut up, Sasuke…" Naruto glowered at his friend. "Not like I wanted to stay up when Iruka-sensei starts droning on."

Hanami flashed a victory sign at Sasuke from behind Naruto. Suguha giggled at her antics. Kagami, who was sitting one row in front of Naruto, seemed a little put out that she had missed out on the fun, but took it in stride anyway. Fubuki just glared at Kagami, as she had been the one to force her awake whenever the elder Yukikaze started to doze off.

"Well… Naruto-nii, you needed to stay awake in class," Shiori started walking in their direction when she overheard the conversation start. "I hope this means you don't stop doing so from now on."

"I don't think the silver-haired devil-in-disguise beside me will let me stop," Naruto spun around and glared at Hanami, who had immediately lowered her hand and feigned an innocent expression, with her head cocked cutely to one side.

"Ara, what could you possibly be talking about?" said silver-haired devil-in-disguise asked, blinking several times to emphasize her not-innocence.

"You know what I… argh, forget it, you won't ever admit to it," Naruto growled, before facing Sasuke. "Now, what did the Uchiha clan want you to do to me _this_ time?"

"What? I can't come to congratulate the Uzumaki heir for his _success _in class?" Sasuke shot back with a grin. "And you totally left me out of that one you pulled on the Monument anyway."

"Will you stop corrupting every boy in the class already, Naruto-baka?" Ino walked up to them with an irritated look on her face as she put her hands on her hips.

"I'm _not_ corrupting every boy in the class!" Naruto shot out. "In fact, _I'm_ the one that was corrupted by _Sasuke_!"

"How troublesome. I'm going to take a nap…" It didn't take a genius to figure out who had said that.

"Well, _you_ were the one who decided to retaliate with a prank war after I hit your goggles that one time," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "And I was the one who went for the more discreet pranks instead of your gaudy ones…"

Naruto paused before he could form a reply… for all of five seconds. "What… did… you… _say_?!"

"He's right, you know, Naruto-kun," Kagami chirped. "You were trying to break out of your prankster habit until Sasuke-san nailed you with that one."

"_Not_ that!" Naruto retorted. "I'm referring to what he called my pranks!"

"Gaudy, flashy, whatever you want to call it," the Uchiha waved a hand dismissively. "Hey, that's just your style of pranking. I just prefer the more subtle ones."

"Hey, _don't_ diss my pranking style!" Naruto roared at Sasuke.

"I'm not dissing it," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just saying that you're into the flashier stuff, and I'm into the quieter pranks. By the way, you never noticed there's chewing gum stuck on your pants?"

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto roared, even as Shiori checked the pants for chewing gum.

"You're clear of the gum," Shiori said to her brother, after pulling off said piece of gum. "At least, now you are."

"Probably should have put a thumb tack there instead," Sasuke mused, looking at where Naruto had sat down. "But then again, that would've been too cruel."

"Gee, you _think_?" Naruto retorted angrily.

"I'll be happy to restart that prank war any time, you know?" Sasuke grinned as he stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some food to polish off before recess ends."

"Hey! Get back here, you dunce head!" Naruto roared, unable to go anywhere with Shiori holding him back.

"Well, he was right you know, Naruto-kun," Kagami patted her comrade-in-arms softly. "Our pranks are designed to make people notice us, but Sasuke-san's pranks are a lot more subtle."

"I dunno… maybe there's this secret guy language that us girls don't get?" Shiori asked nobody in particular, still holding an enraged Naruto back..

"Probably," Fubuki nodded.

"Guys will always be guys, no matter what world they're from," Suguha agreed.

* * *

><p><em>At the Hokage Tower…<em>

"I can't believe it… time sure has flown these past 10 years," Kushina mused at her seat in her office. "Not only that, but many things are going on… not all of them good."

She couldn't help but think back to earlier when she had dropped the new student off in Naruto's class. She had been an oddity, showing up all confused in the village in her very much unusual garb and attracting a lot of attention from the citizens, and of course the patrolling ninja. Her long, pointed ears did not help matters, of course. The blonde from another world had been brought to her office, and she had listened to her story and agreed to help her out. When your husband had the ability to instantly teleport from one spot to another, teleporting between worlds didn't sound particularly far-fetched after all.

Suguha was just lucky she had come to Konoha, the _inventor _of jikukan ninjutsu. Kushina didn't want to think of what could have happened had she ended up in one of the other hidden villages - the poor girl didn't deserve to have anything else bad happen to her after being taken away from her home. What was going on anyway? People from another world just weren't supposed to appear out of thin air. The train of thought was ominous, but she couldn't help thinking that something was going very wrong out there.

With a sigh, Kushina said, "I need a break… I know I have to do paperwork, but all that's going on is making me want to destroy the paperwork, and that's not fun to replicate." With that, she shot a glare at the accursed stacks of paper towering faaaar above her resting on the desk.

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten how to use Kage Bunshin…" a familiar voice spoke from behind the stacks of paper.

"Hm?" Kushina peered around the paperwork and saw… "Miko-chan! Hito-chan! Secchin! What a pleasant surprise!"

Mikoto, Hitomi and Setsuna all stepped out into full view of the redheaded Hokage, all of them smiling. "How long have you been cooped up in this office already?" Mikoto asked.

"Admittedly, not that long on this sitting," Kushina answered. "When a newcomer arrived in Konoha, I had to help her get situated, especially since she was just a child."

"Oh, that elf girl that was seen wandering the streets a while back?" Hitomi blinked in surprise. "Hanabi has been asking me if I've been lying to her about fairy tales being fake because of that. What did you do with her?"

"I gave her a place to study a way to get home," Kushina replied. "In short, she'll be in the Ninja program for the time being."

"You never were one to turn down a child in need, Kushi-chan," Setsuna nodded approvingly. "I take it you put her in Naruto-kun's class?"

"Yes," Kushina answered. "It's not that I'm trying to build him a harem, especially since he effectively has one already… stupid marriage contracts that are beyond his control."

"My daughters don't seem to mind though… ufufufu~" Setsuna giggled serenely. "If anything, they've all had crushes on him since young, but never acted on it because they were scared it would affect their sisterly relationship. Revealing the contracts to them seems to have set them right."

"Is that so, Secchin?" Kushina asked, wondering if her friend was being honest about that.

"Indeed. They're a bit more open about talking about Naruto-kun at home now," Setsuna nodded. "They still don't know I eavesdrop on them sometimes. Ufufufu~"

"Er… is that really a good thing to do, Secchin?" Kushina asked.

"As a concerned mother, do you not listen in on Naruto-kun and Shiori-chan sometimes?" Setsuna kept up her mysterious smile.

"I know the feeling, Secchin!" Hitomi shared a laugh with the silverette. "Hiashi-kun may not act like a concerned father, but he turns a blind eye whenever I do it. I think he wants me to tell him how his daughters are behaving indirectly, even though I always tell him to do it himself…"

With a sigh, Kushina said, "Okay, I admit it… I talk with Naruto and Shiori about their problems. I don't eavesdrop on them, that would be an invasion of privacy."

"Spoilsport," Hitomi and Setsuna deadpanned at Kushina.

"Hey, nobody said I _had_ to eavesdrop on them, did they?" Kushina countered.

"On the other hand, Itachi no longer needs any watching over," Mikoto stared at a certain corner of the room where she knew a _certain _ANBU was hiding. A polite cough could be heard from there. "And I barely have enough time between housework, taking care of Sasuke and my ninja duties to really eavesdrop on him."

It was moments later when Kushina said, "Okay, all male ANBU on duty today have the day off. Female ANBU, please remain behind, alright?"

"By your leave, Hokage-sama," the Weasel-masked ANBU that Mikoto had been staring at appeared in front of the mothers, bowing slightly before he turned to leave. The other male ANBU that hadn't been revealed simply left quietly - everyone could feel his presence leave.

"Speaking of which, Itachi-kun doesn't have a girlfriend yet, right?" Setsuna chuckled.

A louder, still-polite cough could be heard coming from outside the office.

"So… now that I have your attention, everyone that is left in this room," Kushina spoke up. "I believe now is the time to have our breast competition again."

There was a loud crash as one of the hiding female ANBU dropped from her hiding spot in the ceiling in her surprise.

"Again, Kushi-chan?" Hitomi raised an eyebrow. "You know we're probably not going to get any bigger or smaller anymore, right?"

Kushina simply held out a few pieces of chakra paper with fuuinjutsu on each piece. "You might want to rethink that, Hito-chan… besides, remember those mysterious seals we get forced to wear by the village when our breasts started developing?"

"Of course I do, that was a bit of an uncomfortable seal to put on," Mikoto frowned. "The people who put the seals on never told us what that was for."

"Elementary, my dear Miko-chan," Kushina said. "The seals were meant to restrain our growth in the chest department… especially for our line of work as kunoichi."

Mikoto had to grimace at that - she did not particularly like the idea of running around as a kunoichi with a bust as big as what she had seen on some women. She had to admit though, it made her a tad jealous. "So you're saying that we're actually… smaller than we're supposed to be because of that seal?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Kushina answered. "It took me a bit of work, however… work that led me to discovering the secret to removing the seal and replacing it with a different seal."

"I don't know if I want it removed though…" Mikoto frowned. "I mean, I can understand if Hito-chan and Secchin want it removed, they're already retired from ninja duty, but if I get any bigger I'm definitely going to start having problems."

"Problems the new seal I made will undo, Miko-chan," Kushina said. "Besides… the restrained growth comes back once the seal is removed, if Haruno Mebuki is any indication."

"Wait, what, you tested it out on her?" Hitomi blinked. She had been wondering exactly how the woman had suddenly gotten a growth spurt recently when it was so far past her puberty.

"Yep," Kushina nodded. "It's what I needed to do, considering that she came to me to see how to remove it." When she finished saying that, she said, "Okay… time to remove your top half of your clothes, girls. I'll be doing it, too." As soon as she said that, she started taking her top clothes off.

"…Er, Kushi-chan, what exactly will the new seal do to us?" Mikoto couldn't help asking, even as she watched the Hyuuga and Yukikaze matriarchs begin to strip. The two ANBU, one with a swallow mask and the other with a cat mask were shuffling uncomfortably.

"Simple," Kushina answered. "It prevents your boobies from getting in the way while on duty, and can be reapplied without needing the original seal paper if you deactivate it or something."

"Umm… okay," a satisfied Mikoto shrugged off the blouse she had been wearing.

"H-Hokage-sama, us too?" the ANBU were unsure of what to do.

"Oh, you two wish to have this, too?" Kushina asked. "Yes, if you wish to have the seal replaced, it's alright with me."

Mikoto was feeling quite a bit left out though, when she saw Hitomi and Setsuna topless. "…That's not fair," she muttered, cradling her own chest in slight embarrassment.

"Oh? You feel shy all of a sudden, Miko-chan?" Kushina asked. "Is it because of… oh, right." Upon seeing the other two mothers, she understood what was going on. "Well, think of this as a way for you to catch up."

Even with the seal on, it was quite clear that the bluenette and the silverette were very well-endowed. It was quite… depressing to see the two women with busts almost twice as big as her own. "Won't they just get even bigger too after the seal's released?" Mikoto grumbled.

"It might be that they will get a fair bit bigger, but not too big, comparably," Kushina answered. "Besides, there's no way an Uchiha woman will lose to any other women, so I've been told."

"Oh great, not _that _one again…" Mikoto sagged. "Let's just get this done with."

"Okay, hold on," Kushina said, even as she walked over to Mikoto. "Fuuin kai," she said, touching the seal's location with her right index finger.

Mikoto had to hold in a gasp as the seal revealed itself, a webbed pattern stretching across the entirety of her breasts. Slowly, the seal ink started to flake off in tiny particles, and a liquid fire rose within her. Her eyes practically bugged out of their sockets when she saw that her breasts were starting to grow again, with each bit of the seal that came off. It quickly built up speed, causing her to collapse into a chair for extra support when she started to get a little hot and bothered.

"Oh, my! You really got it good, Miko-chan!" Kushina praised her friend from the Uchiha clan as Mikoto's C-cup bust went up to H-cup.

"Umm…" Mikoto panted, wrapping an arm around her chest. The other hand went down below to check her underwear beneath her skirt, as she was sure she had… accidentally let go from the arousal.

…

"I'll pay for the chair!" Mikoto suddenly bowed, surprising everyone else in the room. The motion itself almost sent her tumbling forward, as her suddenly unrestrained bust wobbled and almost upset her balance.

"Eh, I needed to replace the chairs, anyway…" Kushina said. "Now… who wants to go next?"

"I'll do it," Hitomi smiled, pulling up a different chair and eyeing the wet patch Mikoto had left behind on hers. Silently she was mustering all the self-control she had - if Mikoto's violent reaction to the seal being lifted had been any indication, she was going to need it. She was also making sure she had enough money to get new clothes - none of her old tops would fit her anymore after this, and she was already a DD-cup, for goodness' sake!

Walking over to Hitomi, Kushina performed the same seal on her, thus getting pretty similar results… except with a bigger bust size involved.

"Ahn~" Hitomi moaned, although she still had the strength of mind to clamp down on her release. Mostly. There was still a small wet patch on her panties. She weighed her new breasts in awe, marvelling at their feel.

"Not fair," Mikoto repeated.

"Hmm… what's the problem with her having I-cup boobies?" Kushina asked Mikoto.

"Still bigger than me," the Uchiha matriarch grumbled.

"Hey, don't worry, there's not much of a size difference between you two," Kushina said, attempting to soothe her friend.

Setsuna looked on with a chuckle, wondering how big she was going to get after the seal was removed. She was sure that she'd be able to match, if not exceed Hitomi in size… especially considering that the two of them were usually neck-and-neck in the bust department. She was a little happy that hadn't changed even in their adult years.

"Okay, who's next?" Kushina asked.

"I'll go next," Setsuna nodded, seeing that the two ANBU were looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"Okay, Secchin, it's time," Kushina said, walking over to the Yukikaze matriarch and performing the same seal.

Setsuna braced herself in her seat as the effects started to make themselves known, while clenching her teeth. She hadn't quite prepared in the right part though, and gasped and covered her growing bust with an arm when she realized as much. She blushed brightly when she felt the warm liquid trickling down her breasts. "Ufufufu… I seem to have made a mess of myself…" she attempted to laugh it off, although it was very clearly forced.

"…you used a breast pump?" Kushina asked incredulously.

"W-Well…" Setsuna blushed even brighter, before shaking her head. "Akihiro-koi…" she said, before she found herself unable to continue out of embarrassment. She did heave a sigh of relief that she was the same size as Hitomi now though.

"Okay, forget I asked," Kushina relented. Turning to the female ANBU in the room, she asked, "Which of you two wish to go first?"

The two ANBU looked at each other nervously, before looking back at the significantly more well-endowed mothers in the room. After looking around for a few more moments, they swallowed and started playing Rock-Paper-Scissors. Neko won with a scissors to Swallow's paper, leaving the latter grumbling slightly as the cat-masked ANBU stepped forward and shrugged off her vest, together with the mesh shirt beneath.

"Alright, Neko," Kushina said, walking up to her subordinate. "Here you go. Fuuin kai!"

Neko's breathing quickly sped up, while her legs started to go weak from the arousal of her breasts growing. She quickly wished she had sat in a chair like the others, but it was already too late. She crumpled to the ground, cradling her swelling bust and trying not to think about that distinct wet feeling down below...

"Hmm… you think Gekkou Hayate-san would like _this_ enough to marry you on the spot?" Kushina asked, putting emphasis on Neko's now J-cup bust.

Neko made an odd squeaking sound as she practically teleported to her feet and covered her still-masked face, her blush somehow still shining right through. "Ho-Hokage-sama!" she protested, feeling slightly betrayed that her leader had just exposed her until-now secret relationship with the other sword-using shinobi.

"Hito-chan, I feel… slightly depressed," Setsuna muttered, gently poking her friend's arm.

"Not fair," Mikoto continued grumbling.

"Hey, don't worry," Kushina said to her friends. "At least she's not competing with us… neither is Swallow. Speaking of which…"

Swallow stepped forward timidly, this time opting to pull up another chair so as not to end up in the same situation as her colleague, taking off her regulation ANBU vest and the shirt under it. She had to admit though, she was hoping to end up around her colleague's size. Neko was probably going to get even luckier with her boyfriend anyway, and she was probably the only one in the room without a boyfriend or husband. Maybe releasing the seal would help improve her chances...

Walking up to Swallow, Kushina said, "Don't worry… you'll like this a lot. Fuuin kai!"

Swallow's ANBU training was the only thing that kept her from moaning out too loud when her bust grew too. It wasn't as intense as any of the others had looked though, she realized - she was aroused, yes, but nowhere near enough to release… Blinking, she looked around the room. "Is… is it over?" she asked.

"I'd say so, though… you're definitely not as big as Neko," Kushina said.

Mikoto took some solace in the fact that Swallow only had a G-cup, which was smaller than hers. Wait, she was still the smallest in their little group of mothers… ugh. "Kushi-chan, what about you?" she was almost afraid to ask.

Blinking, Kushina chuckled nervously. "Oh, don't worry, Miko-chan, I'll stay at this size for now… something tells me that I need it for protection against the vile men of the world, mainly perverts that don't have a sense of morals… unless you _want_ me to release the seal."

"Ara ara, Hito-chan, I believe our dear Kushi-chan is making excuses not to embarrass herself in front of us," Setsuna mock-whispered to Hitomi, making sure Kushina could hear her. "After all that we went through during the seal release, don't you think she should go through it too?" As she said so, she crossed her arms under her chest and stared right at the person in question.

Hitomi nodded, also joining in the staring contest. "Kushi-chan, it's not fair to make us suffer through this and not go through it yourself…" she added pointedly.

"Yeah, Kushi-chan definitely needs to release that seal of hers," Mikoto chipped in too.

*Staaaaaaaare*

"I'm sorry, what makes you think I'm making excuses?" Kushina asked, eyes blinking. "I'm seriously going to release it when the time's right, no sooner, and definitely no later."

"Well, considering how everyone else embarrassed themselves releasing the seal already…" Mikoto gestured down below and at Setsuna's chest before continuing, "It's simply not fair that you get to walk away from this alone without a scratch on your dignity, Kushi-chan."

"It's not that, actually…" Kushina attempted to diffuse the situation, only for the constant staring to ratchet up another notch. "Ugh… fine, _fine_, I'll release the seal on my assets! Just don't think for a second that I'm doing this because I want to…"

The pressure on her suddenly lightened as the other mothers giggled. "We should probably have our usual meet-up at the bathhouse sometime soon after this, shouldn't we?" Hitomi suggested.

"And knock out the other women? Definitely," Mikoto giggled.

"You mean the meet-up that I'll have to miss because of work, right?" Kushina asked, her shoulders sagging slightly at the thought of missing out on the event. "Besides which, I didn't remove my seal yet… and I don't know whether or not I should do it in front of Shiori."

"She's not here now, right?" Setsuna smiled. "So do it now! Kushi-chan, we've already made a right mess of ourselves anyway, so now it's your turn."

Facepalming, Kushina said, "I meant that I wanted to do it in front of her as added incentive to get her away from the seal while still being a Kunoichi of Konoha."

"Well, we have Kage Bunshin, right?" Mikoto pointed out. "We can all go together with you and Shiori, and leave our Kage Bunshin in the office to work on the paperwork."

Kushina opened her mouth to make a counter-point, only for her brain to finally register what Mikoto had said. "That just might work, Miko-chan! Just give me a bit… I don't remember where Shiori went this time, so I'll look for her with Sarutobi-sama's help."

"Why not just use the crystal ball yourself?" Setsuna pointed out, remembering the Hokage's spying crystal ball. "You can find her easily with that."

"It's tied to Sarutobi-sama's chakra, hence my inability to use it," Kushina reminded. "Best to get it o—"

"Kushina-chan, you don't have to worry," Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice could be heard from outside the closed door. "Your daughter's in class right now… she's just fine right now."

"…Wait, how did he know you were looking for Shiori?" Hitomi blinked. "Did he use the crystal ball on us?"

"To answer that question, no," Hiruzen answered from the other side of the door. "I was going to see Kushina-chan on something, but noticed the male ANBU leaving early, so I left you alone until you mentioned Shiori-chan. I brought the crystal ball with me for what I wanted to see the current Hokage on."

"Oh, okay," Mikoto blinked, relieved that nobody had seen them. "…Girls, we should probably get decent first before we go…"

"I know… probably best to use a genjutsu for now?" Kushina asked. "I mean, not like we have much choice, given the size of your clothes compared to what you have now."

Hitomi tapped her blank, pupilless eyes, while Mikoto gestured at her own eyes. "It had better be a good genjutsu," they said in sync.

"Well, who said it wouldn't be good?" Kushina asked, honestly curious. "Just… give me a bit to perform the right hand seals for this technique." With that, she began performing the most complicated genjutsu that she knew, one that would keep their modesty up while hiding anything that was damaged by the bodily fluids.

"I guess we can have the new seal applied later on," Setsuna shrugged, noticing that her significantly larger bust was… bouncing a lot more now. "Not that I mind this added bulk - Akihiro-kun is going to be one lucky man tonight… ufufufu~" she giggled.

"How soon until you get back, Kushina-chan?" Hiruzen asked from the other side of the door. "If your meet-up will take a while, I can hold the fort and do the paperwork for you."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Sarutobi-sama," Kushina said. "Nothing against you, but I already thought to get the Kage Bunshin out for this one."

Silence fell upon the room for several moments. "You mean… all that time I spent doing paperwork in the past, I could have used Kage Bunshin to ease the load!?" the former Hokage practically yelled through the door.

"Yeah… but Minato-koi was the one to discover that, not me," Kushina said.

"He never told me about it! How can I call myself The Professor if I can't even think of using Kage Bunshin to defeat my worst enemy ever!?" the sound of a forehead hitting the wall could be heard in the room.

"Um… I'm sorry, Sarutobi-sama," Kushina said with sincerity. After a bit of time to think of what to do, she came to a decision. "Girls, why don't we go now? I feel especially sorry for Sarutobi-sama, so I think I'll let him handle the paperwork, with the use of Kage Bunshin."

"Umm… let's," Hitomi blinked at the sudden turn of events as she saw the genjutsu take hold, cloaking the mothers and the two ANBU so they appeared to be wearing their regular clothing, albeit upsized to match their new proportions. "I'd still like to get into something that fits soon though… even with this genjutsu I still feel like I'm streaking."

"I know what you mean," Kushina said, even as she gathered the fallen clothing and put them in a bag. After that was done, she walked to the door, saying, "We'd best be out, girls… oh, and Sarutobi-sama, _don't_ peek on us."

Sarutobi was too busy bashing his head against the wall in anguish and self-loathing to reply, despite the secretary's best efforts to stop him.

"Ugh… let's just go," Kushina said, leading the other mothers out.

XxX

As soon as the mothers made their way in the direction of the bathhouse, Kushina split up from her fellows to collect Shiori, taking the express route to the academy. When she made it, she headed to the front desk, saying to the receptionist, "I'm here to pick up my daughter early."

The receptionist looked up from her desk, nearly jumping clean out of her seat when she realized who was standing in front of her. "Ho-Hokage-sama!" she gasped, before composing herself as best as she could. "Er, yes, please go ahead." Who was she to refuse the village leader anyway?

"Thank you," Kushina said, before she headed to Shiori's class. Upon arriving there, she knocked three times on the door, opened it, and said, "Shiori, is there anything you need to do before heading out now? I'm here to take you to the bathhouse."

Shiori froze in her seat as the rest of the class gaped in shock at seeing the Hokage twice in the same day. Well, except for a certain boy with pineapple-shaped hair. "Okaa-san? Why are you here so early? Classes aren't over yet!"

"Other than to take you with me to the bathhouse?" Kushina asked. "I needed to spend some time with you, anyway, so consider this your chance to get out early."

"Err… Hokage-sama… well, it's fine," Iruka sighed, massaging his head. "There's nothing much more left to teach anyway."

"Thank you, Iruka-san," Kushina said. "Well? How about it, Shiori?"

"Well… sure!" Shiori nodded as she began to gather her things.

"I'll meet you at the front, Shiori," Kushina said, moving to close the door behind her as she left. Suddenly, she paused, and added, "At the front of the bathhouse, that is."

"Now I'm jealous," Kagami decided, watching as one of her best friends got up to leave.

"Man…" Naruto said with a sigh. "How come Shiori-nee gets to go early? I want to bond with okaa-san, too…"

"Does scolding you for pranking the entirety of Konoha count as bonding?" Kagami mused thoughtfully.

"Naruto-kun does seem to be wasting all his potential mother-son bonding time by pranking people and getting scolded by his okaa-san…" Hanami nodded in agreement.

"HEY! I _resent_ that remark!" Naruto yelled.

"Hanami-nee and Kagami-nee do have a point, you know," Fubuki turned around to look at Naruto. "Maybe you try hanging out in your okaa-san's office more? Not getting scolded, that is."

"Maybe… dang it, life's not fair for me!" Naruto whined, even as he put his head on the desk in front of him. "There are times when I wish I was a girl, so that I knew how Shiori-nee can bond with okaa-san."

"Being a girl is not as fun as you think it is, Naruto-kun…" Hanami sighed. "Especially when you're a kunoichi. It's so much more dangerous."

"Yeah… I'm aware of the dangers of being a kunoichi, Hanami-chan," Naruto sighed. "It still won't go away, that wish to be the opposite gender, not at all."

"The grass is always greener on the other side, huh…" Fubuki rested her head on her hands.

"There are still perks to being a kunoichi though," Kagami smirked. "Infiltration is quite a bit easier - just keep them staring at a certain somewhere and you slip right in without an issue."

"Okay, class," Iruka spoke up. "That's it for today… and, if you're male, for the rest of the week. The kunoichi-exclusive classes start tomorrow and will take until Saturday to finish."

"Ugh," Kagami's head hit her desk with a distinct thump. "And there's that little not-perk. Extra classes."

"Ouch… not fun," Naruto admitted, physically wincing.

"Go have your fun tomorrow without us then," Kagami whined, not taking her head off her desk. "We'll be here… growing all old and mouldy in long, boring classes…"

"O…kay," Naruto said, clearly getting the idea that he should do something for his friends.

"In the meantime, since Shiori-chan won't be joining us, do you want to bring Suguha-chan along with us for dinner?" Hanami didn't sound at all perturbed by the thought of extra classes, even as she turned to look at the newcomer in the class.

"Huh?" Naruto and Suguha asked in sync.

"Well, Suguha-chan probably doesn't know what's good food around here after all, and we'd like to get to know her better anyway," Kagami read her twin's train of thought easily as she lifted her head up. "So how about it, want to join us?"

"Um… sure, why not?" Suguha answered. "Besides, I didn't get a chance to do any grocery shopping yet."

"Ah, then we'll show you some of the best places to get groceries too!" Hanami clapped her hands once. "We'll get you all set up in no time!"

"Thank you, Hanami-san," Suguha said graciously.

"So, Naruto-kun, where do you want to go eat?" the words were out of Fubuki's mouth before she realized exactly what she was asking the blonde prankster.

"Um… normally, I'd go to my usual place, but…" Naruto answered, trying to think of a place to go to that was not his usual.

The Yukikaze sisters heaved a sigh of relief.

"What place _is_ your usual, Naruto-san?" Suguha asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Don't get him started on that, Suguha-chan," Hanami advised, with a fearful look at the male blonde.

"Give him the chance and he'll declare ramen to be Konoha's national food," Kagami rolled her eyes. "I have never seen anyone put down as many bowls as he does of the stuff."

"Actually… we'll only need to take her one time, to see what she thinks of the place, and let her choose if she wants to go back," Naruto suggested. "Besides, I don't really know what restaurants there are other than Ichiraku's."

"I guess so... " Hanami sighed, not really wanting to eat more ramen, but acquiescing to show Suguha around anyway. "We probably know more restaurants than you do, Naruto-kun."

"It helps that I like ramen," Suguha admitted. "Then again, it had better not be packaged ramen… homemade is the best."

"Uh-oh," the Yukikaze siblings started making mental preparations for the ramen lover's proclamation of his love.

"You like it as well?! AWESOME!" Naruto declared, before he stopped himself. "I guess it's not just an Uzumaki thing, huh? We love ramen in general."

"Not enough to eat it three times a day, every day of the week…" Kagami deadpanned.

"Hey, quit confusing Shiori-nee's eating habits for a normal Uzumaki's!" Naruto retorted. "Shiori-nee's the odd one out, not me!"

"See what we meant by not getting him started on it?" Hanami whispered to Suguha.

"I _heard_ that!" Naruto yelled. "It really _is_ a genetic thing in the Uzumaki clan to love ramen like I do! Ask okaa-san about that!"

"We're not disputing the Uzumaki love for ramen, Naruto-kun…" Fubuki sighed. "But _normal _people do NOT stuff 20 bowls of ramen down in one sitting."

"Hey, I just have a larger metabolism than normal people, like what okaa-san did when she was younger," Naruto quipped.

"Ahahahah… I can definitely say I can't compete with Naruto-kun here when it comes to eating ramen…" Suguha laughed sheepishly, taking one step away from the ramen maniac.

"Who said we were competing?" Naruto asked, eyebrow raised.

"Point is, Naruto-kun, that you eat too much ramen," Fubuki declared in a tone of finality.

"Uh… I've been meaning to cut back, anyway…" Naruto admitted. "However, I don't know of any other places in town."

"Let's change that then, shall we?" Kagami sat up. "I need something to distract me from the boring, mouldy classes we need to attend tomorrow!"

"I'm fine with ramen today, actually," Suguha pointed out. "I just didn't want to eat more than I'm supposed to."

"Then Ichiraku Ramen it is!" Naruto cheered.

"Yaaaay…" the Yukikaze sisters raised their hands weakly.

* * *

><p><em>Konoha bathhouse…<em>

"That feels so much better…" Hitomi moaned softly as she sank into the hot water. "I suppose I'm just not used to… these yet," she gestured at her chest.

"…They're floating…" Mikoto mumbled, her tone carrying trace amounts of jealousy.

"They are?" Kushina asked, even as she looked in that direction. "Huh… they really are."

"It's just more obvious now that they're bigger, Miko-chan," Setsuna chuckled as she reclined against the side of the large tub. "…But we're definitely going to have back problems for a while. This might take some getting used to."

"Okaa-san… what made them bigger than normal?" Shiori asked, just as she was getting ready to get in the tub.

"They're not bigger than normal, Shiori-chan," Hitomi smiled as she pulled Shiori in gently. "Your okaa-san just released a seal that made them smaller than normal, so these are our real sizes now."

Blinking as she processed both the water and the information, Shiori asked, "Who put the seal on you, then?"

"It was a standard requirement for all kunoichi to get the seal when they start puberty," Setsuna explained. "As I understand it, it was to prevent these…" she indicated her own bust. "…from getting in the way during combat. Your okaa-san says she's developed a new seal for that though, which is why she removed ours."

"Oh, speaking of removing seals," Kushina spoke up again. "Fuuin kai!"

Kushina was glad she had been in the bathtub when she released the seal, because the other women certainly hadn't been kidding about how intense it was. She found herself arching her back involuntarily as the seal ink dissolved, and her breasts grew… and grew… and grew… She didn't even know when the arousal caused her to orgasm - she only knew she had done so, as a loud splash of water and a sudden sense of extra weight on her front told her that the effects were… more pronounced than she had expected.

"Okaa-san? You _really_ had a growth spurt just now," Shiori said, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

"Geh," Mikoto stared agape at Kushina. "Not fair. Not fair at all!"

"As expected of the Hokage…" Hitomi stared at the two… large… bouncy and floaty things on the Hokage's chest.

"Ufufufu…" Setsuna forced a chuckle. "I concede defeat…"

"Wow… who knew that... would happen?" Kushina panted. "Not even I knew that... would happen."

"This is totally unfair," Mikoto turned around and started bashing her head on the edge of the bathtub. "Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Kushi-chan is probably around a… K-cup now?" Hitomi blinked.

After taking a bit to regain her breath, Kushina noticed something about her daughter, something that only a woman would notice. "Oh? You're blooming early?"

"Huh?" Shiori asked. "What does that mean?"

"Ara?" Setsuna leaned closer to examine Shiori. "Just like Kagami and Hanami, ufufufu~"

"What? What do you mean?" Shiori asked. "What do you mean by blooming early?"

"You're starting to go through puberty, Shiori-chan," Hitomi patted the youngest member of the group on her head softly. "It means you're starting to become a young woman!"

Blinking, Shiori asked, "I won't have to go through that seal at all, will I?"

"Not if you train hard, you won't," Kushina smiled. "It's quite uncomfortable to have that seal put on you anyway."

"Got someone in mind already, Shiori-chan?" Setsuna smiled coyly as she gently poked the young redhead's arm.

"Um… no?" Shiori asked more than answered. "I'm a bit young to have hormones ruling my life."

"Just give it a few years," Hitomi waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Secchin here found her other half at 14, you know?"

"Ara ara, Hito-chan, weren't you arranged to marry Hiashi-kun from an even younger age?" Setsuna chuckled.

"In any case," Kushina said, getting the attention back on her. "I'm going to abolish the old seal and let women have their natural sizes again. I just need to make sure my new seal gets spread about more."

"Oh yeah, you never told us exactly what the new seal does," Mikoto queried, rubbing her forehead gently where she had repeatedly banged it against the bathtub's side.

"I thought I did?" Kushina blinked in surprise and confusion.

"You only told us it makes these things not get in the way," Mikoto explained. "You didn't tell us exactly how. Like… does it stop them from bouncing around, make them weightless or something like that?"

"Oh… right, forgot to explain the specifics," Kushina said. "Well, once used, it makes them stop bouncing around in battle… and, far as Mebuki-san was able to clarify, she didn't have back troubles after it was applied."

"Sounds good," Mikoto nodded. "At least I can continue my ninja duties."

"Not having back troubles is definitely good for us too," Setsuna nodded.

"Um, okaa-san," Shiori spoke up again. "Could you apply the new seal to me, please?"

"I did say earlier, right? It'll be your reward if you train hard and become a good kunoichi," Kushina chuckled, pulling Shiori over to sit on her lap and letting her rest against her pillowy bust.

"Speaking of which, can I give the same incentive to my daughters?" Setsuna sat up a little straighter at the thought. "It might get Kagami to pull less pranks in the village…"

"Oh? I don't see why not," Kushina agreed. "Besides, the pranks need to go away ASAP… I just hope Naruto doesn't do anything to start them up again."

"I'm sure Hanami and Fubuki can keep Kagami in line if I give them this little incentive," Setsuna giggled, cradling her bosom. "And Kagami will help keep Naruto under control in turn."

"Um, okaa-san, I can help keep Naruto-nii under control as well," Shiori said. Upon getting the attention of the other mothers, she said, "I've been meaning to keep a better eye on him, anyway… this would be good reason to keep him under watch."

"I think that's settled then," Setsuna nodded sagely. "Hito-chan, what about Hinata-chan?"

"Hmm… that's gonna be a problem," Hitomi said. "I mean, part of me wants to give her the new seal… but I don't know how to give her proper incentive on this."

"What's the problem?" Kushina blinked in surprise. "With the extra clause we added to that marriage contract, Hinata-chan shouldn't have a problem with it anymore, right?"

"Unfortunately, she has a problem in that she feels like 'she's being used as a pawn in the marriage game'," Hitomi answered. "Her words, not mine, by the way."

"Great," Kushina made a face, even as she began to wash Shiori's hair, the little girl squeezing her eyes shut adorably and letting a relaxed smile creep onto her face. "Any chance of talking some sense into her? I'd much prefer it if our children could get along…"

"Apparently, there's nothing we can do to force the issue," Hitomi answered. "However… that doesn't mean we can't talk to her about it over time and get her used to thinking of who to marry on her own."

"Sounds like a plan, but we probably have to find someone she might be interested in first," Kushina nodded. "Shiori, any ideas?"

"Actually… I think she's interested in Naruto-nii, despite what she says," Shiori said. "It's complicated, but… well, I think she's a Tsundere."

"Hinata-chan, a tsundere?" Kushina blinked. "Complicated indeed."

"Yes, it is complicated," Hitomi said. Shaking her head, she added, "I'll be sure to speak with her about this later."

"By the way, does anyone have any idea why it's so quiet here today?" Mikoto looked around, suddenly realizing that the only voices filling the bathhouse were theirs. "Usually there's at least four or five people around here."

"Eh?" Kushina looked around again, before she saw a peep hole in the wall. "Ugh… they probably were chasing a random pervert off, I guess."

Halfway across the village, a certain man with long silver hair was running away from a mob of angry women when he sneezed.

* * *

><p><em>Ichiraku's Ramen…<em>

"Who sneezed just now?" Naruto blinked as he looked around.

"Who knows?" Kagami shrugged as she stared at her bowl of chashu ramen, waiting for it to cool down slightly before she dug in. "Could be some pervert."

At that moment, said pervert sneezed again, this time nearer to the ramen stand than before. "I can understand one time," he yelled, "but twice?! Who's talking about me behind my back?!"

"GET THAT PERVERT!"

"Probably every woman in the village by the sound of the ruckus outside," Kagami just kept staring at her bowl, still not making any move to eat it yet.

Hanami was idly stirring hers, noting that Suguha seemed quite impressed by the ramen at the stall. "Best ramen in Konohagakure," she glanced at Naruto. "In his words."

"I had tested the other ramen stands in Konoha, actually," Naruto admitted. "They didn't compare."

"So… Suguha-chan, I hope you don't mind me asking, but those ears… they're real, right?" Hanami asked, staring at Suguha's ears, and taking note of the way they twitched as she listened to the things going on around her.

"Yes, they're as real as can be," Suguha answered.

"Can I… touch them?" Fubuki asked tentatively. "Are they particularly sensitive or anything?"

"I never tried having anyone touch them before, actually," Suguha answered. "I sure hope that they're not super duper sensitive."

"Okay…" Fubuki reached out and gently squeezed one of Suguha's ears.

With a light gasp, Suguha nearly dropped her chopsticks, mainly from something… bothering her. "O-Okay… sorry, I think that's enough, Fubuki-san."

"Ah, so-sorry!" the youngest Yukikaze hurriedly apologized.

"I-It's alright, just, please let go of my ear!" Suguha got out.

"That was an odd reaction," Kagami remarked, watching as her younger sister quickly released Suguha's ear and got back to eating her ramen, her cheeks burning slightly.

"I don't blame her," Naruto said. "She didn't know if her ears were sensitive or not, and I think we can tell that they're sensitive… by the way, Fubuki-chan, how much pressure did you apply?"

"Umm… I was barely even pinching them," Fubuki blinked, gesturing in the air to show that she hadn't used much force at all.

Silence lasted for a few seconds. "You're kidding, right?" Naruto asked.

Fubuki shook her head.

"…dang," Naruto said. "Well, if you say so, Fubuki-chan."

"Anyway, Suguha-chan, what do you think of our classes so far? Are they different from what you used to have?" Hanami asked.

"Yes, very different," Suguha answered, before she started eating her ramen.

"So… you don't have shinobi over there, right?" Kagami asked.

After a bit to eat, Suguha answered, "No, not any longer. It's difficult to say when the ninja way of life ended, because they were really secretive there… but ninja were considered enemies of the samurai, and the samurai won against the ninja, securing the way it's been for a long time."

The kids all blinked at that. "Samurai here are generally no match for ninja, except for a select few…" Hanami mused, thinking back to their lessons on the Land of Iron.

"Where I'm from, we're generally normal humans, unless you count how I arrived here," Suguha admitted. "You remember that I was playing a game before coming here, right?"

"Yeah?" Fubuki nodded. "Wait, you were a fairy, so does that mean you can use…"

"I don't rightly know if I can use it now, actually," Suguha answered. "I'd need to try it out for myself… some time later."

"I wanna see when you do try it out!" Fubuki bounced in her chair excitedly.

"Okay, okay, I'll let you and the others here watch," Suguha relented.

"Forgive our younger sister here, she's quite into all the magical stuff from all the fairy tales she reads," Kagami chuckled. "Suddenly having a live fairy pop up must've gotten her even more excited. Come to think of it, if you're a fairy, does that mean you also have…" she made a hand gesture like flapping wings.

"What do you think my 'cloak' is?" Suguha deadpanned. "I don't want to scare the normal citizens of Konoha with them at all…"

"Please don't tell me they're sensitive too," Fubuki had to force herself not to physically inspect the blonde girl's wings too.

"I don't really know, yet," Suguha answered. "In any case… shouldn't we eat?"

"Fubuki, you can do it later…" Hanami softly pulled her younger sister back around to face the bowl of steaming ramen in front of her. "Your ramen's going to get cold."

Before the group continued to eat, Naruto noticed someone enter out of the corner of his eyes. "Huh? Sakura-chan?" he asked aloud.

The pinkette froze, not quite expecting to be outed so quickly. She had been hoping to enter quietly to observe the blonde that had been her playmate not too long ago after all. Letting out a sigh, she nodded at Naruto and took a seat behind the group, quietly making her own order of a simple vegetarian ramen.

"Why don't you sit with us, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, curious about the pinkette's behavior.

"Umm… okay…" Sakura got up and moved to sit beside the group shyly.

"So… what brings you here?" Naruto asked. "I mean, I never took you for a ramen fan, after all."

"I just felt in the mood for ramen," Sakura lied smoothly - she just wanted to observe the blonde prankster that had been her first real friend. Friend? Could she call him that? She sure hoped so.

Despite knowing how to sniff out liars, Naruto let it slide, saying, "I see… well, hope you come here more often than anywhere else… the others suck at making ramen."

"Well, he is right, you know!" Teuchi grinned from behind the counter. "No ramen place here in Konoha can measure up to Ichiraku's!"

"That's just shameless self-promoting, Teuchi-ossan!" Kagami pointed out, much to the laughter of the rest of the group and Ayame.

"See what I mean? If you don't put heart and soul into making good food, especially like the ramen here, then you won't get anywhere with customers!" Naruto explained. "The same goes with the ninja way of life… we put our heart and soul into getting everything done right for our clients!"

"I.. see," Sakura nodded, still a little nervous as she accepted the bowl of steaming hot ramen from the ramen chef behind the counter.

"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" Naruto asked, honestly concerned for her.

"Well… I don't exactly know what I'm here for. I don't know what I'm supposed to put my heart and soul into…" Sakura sighed as she broke her chopsticks apart. "Itadakimasu."

"Oh, right…" Naruto said, still a bit put down that Sakura was down in the dumps. "Well, I'm sure you'll find what you're supposed to put your heart and soul into soon enough."

"We can always help you find it, you know, Sakura-chan!" Kagami spoke up as well.

"Yeah, same here, Sakura-san!" Suguha piped up. "Who knows? Maybe you're supposed to help free people from a tyrannical group of radicals!"

XxX

Meanwhile, in a separate dimension, a group of 12 people sneezed rather violently.

XxX

"That sounds… really farfetched, but thanks for trying to cheer me up," Sakura cracked a small smile.

"You're welcome," Suguha said, feeling a bit down in that her suggestion was shot down.

"Anyway, you'll find it sooner or later!" Kagami nodded. "So… why don't you think it over while you enjoy your ramen?"

"I think I… will, thanks," the pinkette nodded as she started eating, her eyes widening slightly. "It's good…"

"Like Teuchi-ossan and I said, nobody else compares," Naruto beamed in pride. "I think the other places need to learn from Teuchi-ossan if they wish to compete."

"Naruto-kun, please don't gloat about something you did nothing to help with," Kagami said with slight irritation.

"Um… I thought he was helping spread the word on the quality of the place?" Suguha asked.

"Indeed!" Teuchi grinned. "Business has never been quite as good until Naruto-kun and Hokage-sama started endorsing my store!"

Naruto then chuckled in embarrassment. "I wonder what would happen if I didn't have my mom around…?"

"We'd probably have been just stuck as just another dingy little stall in Konoha," Ayame said.

"Oi, don't call that old stall dingy! I liked it!" Teuchi muttered.

"Still…" Naruto looked down. "What if I was an orphan?"

XxX

Meanwhile, in canon Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto sneezed as hard as can be while trying to eat his ramen… sneezing it over Umino Iruka.

"Naruto!? What was that for!?"

XxX

"Can we not talk about depressing stuff at the dinner table?" Kagami looked up from her ramen.

"Ehehe… sorry," Naruto apologized. "I don't know what came over me, honest."

"Now I'm starting to miss my brother even more," Suguha sighed as she began idly stirring her ramen soup with a chopstick. "All the banter at the dinner table is reminding me of home."

Silence filled the ramen stand for a few seconds.

"Hey, Suguha-san, don't worry," Naruto said, patting her on the shoulder. "I'm sure we'll be able to get you home. Just give it time, alright?"

"O-Of course!" Suguha wiped away the tears that had been forming. "I'll wait however long it takes!"

"That's the spirit, Suguha-san!" Naruto proclaimed. "So, now that that's over with, what's your… view… huh? Where'd Sakura-chan go?"

Blinking, the others in the shop looked over to where Sakura had been sitting, only to find that all that was left was an empty bowl without even a drop of ramen soup inside, and enough money to foot the bill.

"She's got some good stealth for someone with pink hair," Fubuki remarked, rubbing her eyes in surprise.

"Maybe what she told me earlier was true…" Naruto mused.

"Huh? What did she tell you, Naruto-kun?" Hanami asked, as she politely wiped her mouth with a tissue and clapped her hands together. "Gochisosama deshita."

"Gochisosama deshita," the others repeated in sync.

"As far as what she told me… she felt that she was a figment of everyone's imagination, and that she joined the Ninja Academy to stand out," Naruto elaborated. "She didn't want to blend in with the crowd… at all."

"She's doing an awfully good job of blending in though," Kagami adopted a thinking pose with her finger at her lip. "How about we ask her if she wants to join us in pranking Konoha?"

Blinking, Naruto was about to speak up—

"No more pranking for you if you want to have your boobies grow without restraint."

—when his mother interrupted his train of thought.

"Ku-Kushina-san!?" Kagami jumped out of her seat and gaped at the redhead Uzumaki that had just arrived. "Wha-Wha do you mean… wait a moment…" her jaw fell open as she stared. "Since when were you this… this…" she gestured around her chest, still a little too stunned to form a coherent sentence.

"Well, it turns out that every Konoha kunoichi wears a seal on them that limits their breast growth," Kushina answered. "Once removed, mine just grew to this size while at the bath house, when I was taking a bath with Shiori and a couple of my friends… including your mother. She wanted me to pass this message on: 'If you don't want your boobies to be smaller than they should be, you'll need to have all pranks in Konoha stopped, regardless of whether you were behind them or not.'"

Silence reigned for several moments until Kagami dropped to her knees and let out an anguished scream, "Nooooooo! Okaa-san, how could you!?"

Catching the hidden meaning in the message, Hanami and Fubuki let out loud sighs. "Kagami/Kagami-nee, that also means you need to stop Naruto-kun from pranking as well…"

"What?!" Naruto let out in shock and surprise. "That is _so_ unfair! And what about Sasuke?!"

Kagami looked up with a gleam in her eyes as she jumped towards Naruto so fast, he could've sworn she had Shunshin'ed to him. And then she started throttling him. "Naruto-kun, you are hereby restricted from pranking ever again! Not even to retaliate against Sasuke-san!"

"W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" Naruto let out while he was being throttled.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot… this applies for Sasuke's pranks as well," Kushina added.

"THAT IS _SO _UNFAIR!" Kagami shouted, as she began banging her head on Teuchi's counter. "Urgh… I don't have a choice, do I? Can I ask Mikoto-san for help?"

"Not to worry, Kagami-chan," Kushina said. "She knows better to let this continue at all. In fact… she's agreed to stop Sasuke as well."

"How's she going to stop Sasuke?" Fubuki blinked. "You can't use this restriction for him…"

"Ah!" Hanami hit her hand with her fist as she realized something that could be used against Sasuke. "It's tomatoes, isn't it?"

"That's part of it… the other part being that he has to undergo a seal that will make him just like his sister, Suzaku," Kushina answered. "Not to the extent of making him a girly boy… even worse."

Kagami blinked. "Sasuke-kun as a girl? Really? That might be interesting to see…"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" a loud shout came from the direction of the Uchiha district.

"Huh… is that Sasuke?" Naruto asked curiously. "Well, hope he doesn't do anything to risk the wrath of his mother."

"At least your mother doesn't have a scary-as-fuck Noh mask to use on you…" Kagami sank onto the counter in depression.

"Kagami…" Hanami began, even as an odd aura appeared around her. "Okaa-san told me that swearing is… _forbidden_." At that, a small Noh mask appeared in the air floating behind her shoulder, where it started glaring daggers at Kagami.

"In other news…" Kushina began, before her skin tingled. "Oh, dear…"

"SHE LEARNED IT! SHE LEARNED IT! WHYYYY!?" Kagami shivered as she ran to hide behind Fubuki - while Hanami's newfound ability to use the Noh mask was still weak and nowhere near as powerful as their mother's, it was still freaking scary!

"Um… okaa-san, what happened?" Naruto asked Kushina.

"It seems that Miko-chan made good on her threat to make Sasuke undergo the seal, Naruto," Kushina answered.

Fubuki sighed, completely unaffected by the mask as she reached behind her and pushed her older red-eyed sister in front to face the full wrath of her other older sister. "Kagami-nee, swearing is _forbidden_." Another Noh mask joined the staring contest, pinning Kagami between them.

"NOT YOU TOO!?"

"Huh, it worked," Fubuki blinked in surprise.

"Hmm… so, now what?" Suguha asked. "I mean, does that mean Sasuke-san has to go by another name?"

"It won't be Suzaku, that's for sure," Kushina answered. "In fact, we had come up with a nice name… Uchiha Mito will be your classmate while Uchiha Sasuke undergoes rehabilitation for his pranking ways."

"He'll… She'll be crying about how unfair it is to him… her when Naruto gets off easy," Hanami pointed out as she kept her Noh mask glaring at Kagami.

"Eh, I wouldn't know about _that_…" Naruto said, sinking his head. "You remember my earlier statement about my gender?"

"Wait, what!?" all of the girls present snapped their heads towards the blonde prankster.

"I was being serious…" Naruto said. "I want to be able to understand how Shiori-nee and okaa-san bond better…"

"B-But Naruto-kun, we like you as a guy!" Hanami got out, before she clapped her hands over her mouth in shock at what she had just blurted out.

Blinking, Naruto asked, "You do? I never really realized that…"

"I-I-It isn't like that!" Hanami blushed brightly as she waved her hands in front of her. "I mean… like, not love!"

"You're just digging yourself a deeper hole, Hanami-nee…" Fubuki whispered. Hanami visibly sank in her seat.

"Um… well, to be fair, we're a bit young for hormones to rule us, right?" Naruto asked. "Even so, well…"

"You don't think you'll have a choice either way?" Fubuki deadpanned, watching as Kushina waved a piece of sealing paper with a seal already drawn on it in the air.

"Well… for the time being, I want to experience life from both sides of it, alright?" Naruto clarified. "If, for whatever reason, I need to stay a guy, I'll ask for someone to correct my body and mind, okay?"

"Well… not that I'm against the desire, Naruto," Kushina said. "However, I'm not sure what to do with no sons, and two daughters."

"While I like the idea of having another girl in the group, I'd prefer it if Naruto doesn't permanently stay a girl…" Kagami sighed, leaning against Naruto's side. "It just won't feel right."

"Um… could we consider this a trial period for the whole of us?" Naruto asked. "I mean, I might decide to revert to being a boy later, anyway…"

"Please do," the Yukikaze sisters chorused.

"Kushina-san, can you make the seal last for only a set amount of time?" Hanami pleaded.

Kushina blinked at the request. "Um… the problem with that is that I'd have to rewrite the whole seal from the ground up to incorporate the timer."

"Ugh… Naruto-kun, promise us you'll turn back into a guy sometime at the very least!" Hanami slumped.

"When, exactly?" Naruto asked.

"At least within 2 years!" she quickly said.

"Um… alright," Naruto said.

Hanami sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…"

"Well, here we go," Kushina said. Moving the paper over to Naruto's chest, she said, "Fuuin!"

With that, Naruto started feeling an electrocuting pain flow through him, though he grit his teeth and kept the pain within, despite a blazing fire going on inside his body. Not only that, but he felt specific parts of him get fundamentally… rewritten, so to speak, even down to the mental level. No longer was he considered eligible for pranking people, by any stretch of the word, especially as he… _she_ was made more along the lines of a true feminine girl… even down to the appearance. What happened to her appearance was now her hair was long and straight, as well as a really bright red, while her eyes deepened in shade, as her waist slimmed down and her other proportions flared a bit, and her clothing… well…

Fubuki quickly realized exactly what was going to happen, so she hurriedly reached for Naruto's pants and held them up to preserve his… her modesty.

"Ah, thanks," Naruto said. "I don't want to flash anyone here… wouldn't be fun."

"The only male here is Teuchi though," Hanami looked over towards the owner of the store.

"Please tell me you at least still have your ramen addiction!" said male practically begged.

"You mean the Food of the Gods?" Naruto asked, tilting her head to the side. "It's still heavenly for me, that's guaranteed."

"Safe…" the shop proprietor heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'll be back later when I can, Teuchi-ossan," Naruto said. "Though… for now, could you have the bill go under the name Uzumaki Naru, instead of my original name?"

"Sure, no problem," Teuchi nodded.

"Thank you, Teuchi-ossan," Naru said. Turning to face her mother, she asked, "Okaa-san… could we go clothes shopping before tomorrow? I need new clothes."

"Oh, oh, bring us along too!" Kagami volunteered. "We'll help pick out a good style for Naru too! Can't have her wearing that unsightly orange forever…"

"Of course, Kagami-chan," Kushina agreed. "As for you, Naru… well, we do need to bond some, right, my daughter?"

"YAAAY!" Naru exclaimed at the top of her lungs.

"That was a decidedly un-Naruto-ish reaction," Hanami tried to clear her ears from the ringing.

"Um… care to explain that for me?" Naru asked. "I mean… while I'm like this, I'm no longer who I was, except for some part of me that will be released in due time."

"…The old Naruto would never squeal like that at the thought of getting that orange off him," Hanami sighed.

"Eh? I was squealing because I get to spend time with okaa-san," Naru clarified. "Then again… I think red's more my color, don't you think?"

"Hmm, a darker red so it won't blend in with your hair…" Kagami mused. "Yeah, it'll work."

"Great~!" Naru purred. "C'mon! Let's go shopping!"

"Well, that's definitely a sight I never expected to see upon coming here…" Suguha just blinked incredulously at what was going on before her very eyes.

"Kirigaya-san, don't you need to buy some clothes as well?" Kushina asked Suguha, blinking in confusion.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yes I do… alongside some other things," the stunned fairy took a few moments to recover. "Mainly groceries and stuff."

"Why don't you come with us?" Kushina asked. "I'll pay for your needs… consider it a housewarming gift, Kirigaya-san."

"Alright, I guess I'll take you up on that offer then," Suguha nodded slowly, realizing she didn't really have that much of a choice in the matter, especially with the other girls looking expectantly at her.

"That's great!" Naru exclaimed. "Let's go, let's go, let's GO!"

"A girls' night out, huh?" Kagami smiled. "Sounds fun!"

* * *

><p><em>That night, 25 kilometers away from Konoha's north gate…<em>

With a yawn, Yamiko asked, "How much longer until we get to Konoha?"

"We should arrive by… tomorrow afternoon, give or take," one of the merchants they had hitched a ride with replied.

"I hope so…" Yamiko said. With another yawn, she asked Mika, "How likely are we to be attacked by anything or anyone?"

"The chances of us being attacked at all are astronomically low, Yamiko-sama," Mika answered. "There is no way for us to be attacked… right?"

"Uh-oh…" Yamiko said, all signs of tiredness going away. "You just _had_ to jinx us, didn't you?"

"What is a jinx, Yamiko-sama?" Mika asked, tilting her head to one side even as she prepared herself for combat.

Silence lasted for a few moments.

"I'll explain Murphy's Law to you later, it seems," Yamiko answered.

"I will eagerly await your explanation," Mika didn't sound very enthusiastic about it, but it was how she always spoke anyway.

"Ah, will you just relax, missy?" the head of the convoy asked. "We're almost to Konoha. The only chance of us getting attacked is if it's a wild animal or two… nothing major."

"I think you need to look up your wildlife encyclopaedia again," Yamiko shot back.

"It's here, Yamiko-sama," Mika said, at the same time pulling out a wildlife encyclopaedia from one of the bags.

At that moment, when Mika was about to hand the wildlife encyclopedia to Yamiko…

***ROOAAR!***

"…um, Mika? What was that?" Yamiko asked timidly.

"A monster, I assume," Mika looked towards the source. "I do not believe you'll find it in the encyclopaedia then."

"Uh-oh…" Yamiko gulped, just as a rather large pack of large wolves showed up, followed by a pair of lions that had scorpion tails and the torso of a human.

"Forgive me, Yamiko-sama. I did not bring a monster encyclopaedia along," Mika bowed politely.

That snapped Yamiko out of her scaredy funk. "This isn't the time for that! We need to crush these monsters _now_!"

"Yes, Yamiko-sama," Mika pulled her tonfas out from their sheaths.

As soon as Yamiko drew her weapons, a pair of pistols, the monsters struck at the convoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Okay… who could say they were expecting what we did in this chapter? If anything… this was more along the line of "We had a plan, but we decided to improvise as well", which I hope does not become a trend.<strong>

**Now… here's Astral!**

* * *

><p><strong>AstralXYZ: By the way, you probably noticed, but this chapter is much, much longer than what we're usually used to writing. It's about 26 pages long in Google Docs, while we usually seem to have 13 pages per chapter. Which is probably why it took so long to roll out. Also, expect some action next chapter!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Again, no review corner until the end of the story arc, guys… though, if you feel that the quality of the story could use some improving, we'll be sure to go back and make some needed revisions based on quality control. Just leave a vote on the poll that will show up starting this chapter… do we: A) clean up the first couple chapters [including this one]? Or: B) leave the chapters as is?<strong>

**Thank you for reading this chapter, everyone!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Xamusel: Okay… 20:24 on 12/4/2014… we're on a roll, so to speak, guys! If only we could keep Tomcat around… but, then again, he hates gender bending if it's not Naruto pulling a prank (or if it's a natural part of the show… or if it's Haku). Well, too late for that, now.**

**In any case, we're about to get started on this chapter, guys… hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Book 0<em>**

**_Prologue Arc_**

**_Chapter 3_**

**_Cat and Dog fight?_**

* * *

><p><em>Outside Konoha…<em>

"Man… never thought I'd do this, Kagami-chan," Naru whispered to her friend as they left the safety of Konoha's walls. "Especially since we're sneaking out of Konoha to see where okaa-san went to."

The situation was fairly obvious to those in the area. A battle had broken out mere minutes ago, and Kushina, the Hokage, had gone to investigate the situation, while ordering the kids not to go out of Konoha for the time being. Of course…

"But it looks like there's an interesting battle going on!" Kagami protested. "Maybe you can just think of it as study for the future?"

"I'm not denying that, Kagami-chan," Naru admitted. "However, what if we get caught and forced to return to Konoha, and the people that need help end up getting killed?"

"That's why we'll stay super stealthy!" Kagami exclaimed enthusiastically.

With a facepalm, Naru muttered, "Not at this rate…"

"Oh fine," Kagami rolled her eyes. "That's why we'll stay super stealthy…" she whispered in a much lower tone.

"You two _do_ realize that I'm right behind you, right?" an all too familiar voice said, getting the two of them to turn around to face…

"Shiori-nee? What brings _you_ here?" Naru questioned her sister.

"Isn't it obvious? She's coming along to watch the battle with us," Kagami grinned as she tried to get a rise out of the newcomer.

"Actually, I was going to bring you two back to Konoha to make sure you don't break another of okaa-san's rules, Kagami-san," Shiori countered, annoyance filling her tone. Turning to face Naru, she demanded, "And who are _you_?! You called me Shiori-nee when we're not related… who are you, really?!"

Kagami blinked, before she mouthed a silent 'o'. "Err… Shiori-chan, this might be a little hard to believe, but…" she glanced at Naru, gesturing for her to continue.

Naru sighed irritably, before she said, "I'm your brother… thank okaa-san for letting me be able to experience what it's like to be a girl through one of her seals."

Silence reigned supreme for a few seconds…

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAATT?!"

…before Shiori lost her composure and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Not so loud!" the silverette hissed as she hurriedly cupped a hand around Shiori's mouth and pulled her into a nearby bush. "You'll get us busted!"

Naru sighed, before she grabbed both her sister and her friend and dragged them in the direction of the battlefield. "We can worry about this later, you two," she hissed. "For the time being, we need to find out what's going on in the battlefield, and see how it could help with our growing as better ninja."

"But why are you a girl now, Naruto-nii?!" Shiori demanded, not quite understanding her sibling's desire.

"Well… I wanted to bond with okaa-san more, and I was jealous of how you've been able to," Naru explained. "Besides… I've been wondering what it was like to be a girl for a long time now. I hope you can understand."

"We've managed to extract a promise from her to change back at some point though," Kagami nodded. "I mean… the marriage contract is going to be a little hard to fulfill when she's… like this."

"Eh? What marriage contract?" Shiori blinked in surprise.

Kagami clapped her hands over her mouth. "Er… Ooops?"

Shiori looked at her brother… sister and narrowed her eyes. "What happened, Naruto-nii?" she asked dangerously.

"Um… well, I found a box of scrolls that had marriage contracts associated with them," Naru answered. "Marriage contracts for me with a few girls at once."

"I don't know if we have the time to talk about this or not…" Kagami whispered, sensing that they were approaching the combat area.

Naru blinked, before she realized… "Oh, you're right! We'd best be ready for anything!"

"We… Naru can explain to you more once this blows over!" Kagami quickly rectified.

"I hope so, Naru… nee," Shiori spoke up. "Geez, it's so hard for me to say that, you know?"

"I know what you mean, Shiori-nee," Naru admitted. "I know what you mean."

* * *

><p><em>With the convoy…<em>

Leaping back onto the top of a caravan to get a better view of the battlefield, Yamiko noted that some of the merchants were still stupidly looking at the approaching creatures, apparently trying to understand what was going on. "Get into cover, you fools!" she yelled out. "We're under attack!"

Just as the merchants who were left started getting into cover, one of the large wolves started rushing towards the slowest of the bunch, prompting Mika to intercept and beat at it with her tonfas.

The wolf just jumped back before the tonfa could hit it, with a weird gleam in its eyes. Right on cue, more wolves launched out of the pack and charged Mika while the first one was still recovering, forcing her to back off.

"These wolves have intelligence, Yamiko-sama," Mika alerted her creator.

"Eh?!" Yamiko yelled at the news. "What are they, summoned wolves?!"

"I don't know, Yamiko-sama. Those two big ones look especially troublesome," Mika looked at the two fusions of lions, scorpions, and humans rampaging through the camp. "We should retreat and call for help from Konoha."

At that moment, a large group of the wolves started growling, before one of them let out a long and loud howl… as a massive aura suddenly grew around the wolves and the monstrous fusions.

"Whatever that was, I don't think it'll do any good for us to retreat while the merchants need our help!" Yamiko countered. "We can still fight, anyway!"

"Very well, Yamiko-sama," Mika nodded, clashing her tonfas against a pair of wolves at once, knocking one back and forcing the other to back off before she had to duck under another wolf leaping towards her. "But at this rate, we may be overwhelmed before help can arrive."

The wolves almost immediately rushed towards Mika, who had proven to be the major threat thus far, even as the one to howl before let out another loud and long one. This time, however, the terrain around the convoy started to change drastically… gone were the trees and even the convoy itself. Now the terrain was a rugged plain with no cover or anything for 15 kilometers around the wolf… and the wolves in general sped up in their assault.

"Terraforming jutsu, really!?" Yamiko growled. "What kind of wolves are these?"

"Unknown, Yamiko-sama," Mika replied.

"Urgh… wait, what happened to the merchants?!" Yamiko blinked as she looked around.

**_"_****_The merchants, as you call them, have been kept outside of this battle barrier,"_** a voice growled out. **_"In fact, they are probably leaving the area right now… blissfully unaware of the battle going on. You only need to focus on your own lives now…"_**

"Yamiko-sama, there appears to be a third party involved in this battle," Mika reported dully.

"Mika, that's already obvious by what's going on, I hope you realize!" Yamiko retorted.

**_"_****_Are you referring to me as a third party?"_** the voice growled out. **_"I'm the one to cast the barrier around the battlefield, and the one who will kill you, should my pack fall before you do!"_**

"Why are you doing this? Why are you specifically targeting us?" Yamiko tried to fish for more information, even as she stretched her hands outwards, activating a pair of storage seals on the palms of her hands that ejected her personal weapons - a pair of handguns that could compress her chakra and fire it at enemies to deal damage. That being said, the handguns were about as long as she was tall each, although she wielded them without difficulty owing to weight and recoil-reducing seals inscribed all over them.

**_"_****_It is not by my choice, but by the choice of the one that tamed my pack and I,"_** the voice growled out some more. **_"Know that the Dire Wolves of the Swordport of Faerun will be your downfall!"_** With that, the lead Dire Wolf began to rush forward, aiming for a crippling blow to Mika.

"What in the world is a Dire Wolf of the Swordport of Faerun anyway?" Yamiko wondered out loud, parrying a claw swipe with one of her handguns and allowing the momentum to spin her around, using it to dodge the follow-up swipe before she aimed her other handgun at the wolf… or rather where the wolf had been. Letting out a small gasp, her reflexes alone managed to save her as she jumped backwards and it landed where she had just been standing, having jumped upwards before she could shoot it. "Fast!"

**_"_****_Correction: We are Dire Wolves from the region of Faerun known as the Swordport,"_** the voice growled out.

"Yamiko-sama, there is no such area in the world to my knowledge," Mika intoned. "Not even the Uzumaki explorers brought back records of such a place."

**_"_****_Because you didn't account for the fact that we're from another plane of existence,"_** the voice growled out more. At that moment, the lead Dire Wolf got to Mika and clawed at her.

Mika grunted, blocking the attack with her tonfas until the wolf decided to try and take a bite out of her, at which point she reared her head backwards and slammed her forehead down on the wolf's head, stunning it slightly from the unexpected attack. That done, she kicked it off her and let herself fall to the ground while a smaller wolf that had pounced at her overshot and took a tonfa to the stomach for its trouble.

Yamiko aimed her handguns at two separate Dire Wolves and pulled the triggers of both, firing a burst of chakra bullets at each one, killing them both… before she noted that the pack hadn't thinned itself yet. "Great… we're in trouble here!"

"Yamiko-sama, something is strange about these wolves," Mika noted, even as she slammed her tonfas into a wolf hard enough to break its spine. "They do not appear to be taking any real damage regardless of whatever we do."

"Regardless of the fact that I killed two of them just now?!" Yamiko snapped at Mika. "I know we can get rid of them!"

"They are not regenerating most damage taken," Mika noted, watching as the wolf with the snapped spine climbed back up awkwardly, its joints snapping back into place with a sickly cracking sound, even though the bruise she had left on it didn't heal over. Before she could make any more observations, she was forced to jump over a charging wolf, ending up on its back where she grabbed its head and snapped its neck with brute force.

Before Yamiko could continue the assault on her end, a pair of dire wolves crashed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground. "Guh!" she cried out.

Mika charged the dire wolves with her shoulder about two seconds later, knocking them both off her creator as she tumbled into an acrobatic flip that sent her high into the air, before she came back down on top of the two wolves with her feet, leaving a crater behind on the ground as she crushed the wolves' heads into the ground on impact.

"*cough* Thanks, *cough* Mika," Yamiko got up and said. "Now… let's finish this!"

"One moment, Yamiko-sama," Mika nodded, as she jumped into the air a second time for another gravity-assisted axe kick that completely pulverized the bodies of the two wolves before they could move again. "It would seem we have to completely disintegrate the bodies to prevent them from getting back up."

"We do, huh?" Yamiko asked, even as she aimed her handguns at the fusions that decided to join the fight. "What about those guys?" She pulled the trigger and fired.

The fusions flinched at the contact, but otherwise didn't react past heading for the two of them.

"I do not believe we can tackle the two of them without dealing with the wolves first, Yamiko-sama," Mika addressed her creator as she slid under one of the fusions before it could take a swipe at her. Once she was past the creature, she performed a spinning kick that launched a wolf into a tree, where she followed up with a series of lightning-fast kicks to completely destroy it.

However, before the two of them could completely commit to their course of action, a strange mist encompassed the battlefield. "Mika, what is this?!" Yamiko questioned of her golem, hoping for an answer.

Before Mika could answer, the mist left, leaving behind a few dozen of the Dire Wolves… wait, a few dozen?!

"…we're screwed, aren't we?" Yamiko asked.

"I do not believe screws have anything to do with combat," Mika tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"I meant to say 'doomed', Mika!" Yamiko retorted, just as she shot at the first Dire Wolf to head her way… all to watch as the chakra bullet did nothing to slow it down. "Yep… we're doomed."

Even Mika jumping in the way barely stopped the wolf at all - if anything, it just rushed her guard and pushed her back, causing her to knock into Yamiko as she left deep furrows in the ground from her feet digging into it. "Yamiko-sama, I cannot keep this up much longer," Mika said. "My biological functions are beginning to deteriorate."

"You're getting tired?!" Yamiko shot out. "This is getting worse by the minute… can this get better, please?!"

Mika was forced to pull her creator into a bridal carry as she jumped out of the path of a pouncing wolf, even as the blonde gunner unloaded chakra bullets into the wolf's face with no apparent effect whatsoever. "I would recommend retreating as the best course of action, but it seems these wolves will not let us do so."

"DAMMIT!" Yamiko roared, even as another Dire Wolf attempted to charge them. "We could _really_ use a _miracle_ now!"

Just as the wolf closed to within two metres of the duo, a chain lashed out of nowhere, tripping the wolf over and causing it to tumble past them. Moments later, the chain whipped back around, before it was joined by more of its brethren, intertwining together before lashing down onto the downed wolf with a sonic boom similar to the sound of a whip cracking. Blinking, the duo surveyed the damage to see that the creature had been completely pulverized.

"Who? What? Where?!" Yamiko blinked in surprise, looking around for the source of the chains.

"It seems there were more of these creatures than I initially expected... " a young woman with bright red hair in a white band and deep blue eyes, wearing a purple sleeveless kimono blouse with yellow trimming held by a traditional obi with a long, streaming bow tied to it, with mesh armor underneath the blouse and a short white skirt, said, causing Mika to jump up a fair distance and drop Yamiko to the ground.

"I apologize, Yamiko-sama. Her appearance gave my nervous system a jolt," Mika quickly apologized to her creator. "That being said…" she narrowed her eyes at the newcomer.

"I was traveling to Konoha on orders from my immediate superior, to see if I couldn't intercept the monsters headed for it," the newcomer answered almost immediately as soon as she felt Mika's eyes on her. "My name is Uzumaki Honoka."

"Yamiko-sama, she is an Uzumaki," Mika repeated to her creator.

"I _know_ that, Mika," Yamiko grumbled annoyedly. "You don't need to say it again."

"Understood," Mika nodded in understanding. "Perhaps we may be able to survive this battle now."

"Since we're fighting the same battle anyway," Honoka gestured towards the Dire Wolves and the fusions, "how about we team up for this? I'd rather not weigh my conscious down by having you two fight these creatures alone."

"Of course, Honoka-san," Mika nodded as she helped Yamiko up before readying her weapons anew.

"Let's take care of these monsters immediately!" Yamiko yelled, pulling the trigger on her handguns and firing a burst of chakra rounds at three approaching Dire Wolves, destroying them.

"Agreed, Yamiko-san," Honoka nodded, drawing a katana and speeding forward, slashing at the ground next to the monsters that were closest to the child-like beings. "Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu: Doryuusen!" As she said that, the earth around the blade shattered, large chunks of hardened earth slamming into nine of the Dire Wolves and killing them right off.

Mika took a moment to process what Honoka had done, before performing another high jump kick and plowing into a group of Dire Wolves. The impact sent them flying, but before they could get far, a hand reached out of the resulting cloud of smoke, grabbing onto one of the wolves and using it as a club to smash the remaining ones with… repeatedly. Mika emerged from the smoke, throwing the wolf she was holding to the ground before pulverizing it with several hard stomps.

Yamiko dashed forward and jumped, performing an acrobatic flip in the air, and spun about while shooting about twelve Dire Wolves dead. With the canine monsters down by at least two dozen since the recount, she landed, back to back with Honoka.

Honoka, for her part, moved to her projectile pouch and threw fifteen shuriken at a large group of Dire Wolves, three of them barely dodging in time, but not completely… the other twelve dying by getting hit in the eyes.

"I should have thought of that," Mika nodded, running forward and clobbering two wolves together, before she charged up a chakra-infused punch that caved in their faces.

Yamiko shot another Dire Wolf through the eye and into its brain, just in time to block another claw swipe from what appeared to be the head Dire Wolf, meaning… she had some business to take care of. "Who is your tamer?!" she demanded of the Dire Wolf.

**_"_****_Like I'd tell you… you do not deserve the information I have!"_** the voice, now properly identified as that of the lead Dire Wolf, growled out as it attempted to break the handgun blocking it with its claws.

"I see… too bad, idiot wolf," Yamiko said with finality, even as she brought her other gun to bear and shot the lead wolf in the face… killing it. "You lost, fair and square."

Even as the big wolf fell backwards, Mika and Honoka were finishing off the remaining smaller ones. A loud crash off to the side with a whip cracking sound told the young blonde girl that the Uzumaki newcomer had just dispatched one or two wolves, while the loud crash and sounds of metal tonfas being swung with enough force to pulverize flesh on impact from the other side was definitely her creation's doing.

All that remained were the fusions… and, now noticing the destruction of the their Dire Wolf allies, rushed at the three travelers with the intent to kill them. The pair of them lunged at Yamiko first… and managed to knock her around and into a tree fifteen meters away!

"Yamiko-sama!" Mika shouted out, even as she rushed one of the fusions and lashed out at its face with a tonfa in an attempt to grab its attention away from her creator. The thing only flinched slightly from the attack, before it lashed out with a paw and knocked her away too.

"Grr! You're going _down_!" Honoka roared, taunting the fusions into attacking her. When they rushed her, she intoned as she swung her katana in a complex weave, "Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu: Ryusosen!" With that, the fusions had to jump backwards to avoid getting killed, recovering near-instantaneously from the damage inflicted. "Dammit! We need something strong enough to kill these things!"

"Can't you hogtie them or something with your chains?" Yamiko barked out, having to dodge out of the way of a tail stinger headed her way, although it hit the ground with enough force to pelt her with debris and temporarily blind her. When she managed to open her eyes again, there was a paw coming right towards her, sharp claws extended. Letting out a loud squeak, she jumped backwards and brought her guns up to block… not quite fast enough. The claws raked through the front of her shirt, tearing skin and drawing blood.

"Yamiko-sama!" Mika yelled, attempting to go towards her creator to heal her, only for the other fusion to intercept her and uppercut her. The uppercut sent her flying up and backwards fifteen meters, before landing at the base of a tree… and crushing the roots of the tree, making it fall on top of her, nearly destroying her in the process.

"M-Mika…" Yamiko gasped as she pulled herself up from where she had fallen after the attack. Bleeding heavily, she knew she wasn't going to make it unless help came soon - her vision was already starting to fade, and her state of exhaustion wasn't helping any.

Honoka was dodging and weaving her way around the attacking fusions, even as she sheathed her katana in a super sonic burst of speed, "Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu: Ryumeisen!" After she did that, the fusions started to stumble about, even as their equilibrium went off-balance. "I have to get to Yamiko-san… she needs help immediately!"

However, just as she was going to head over to the young blonde, a sudden feeling of ill-ease hit her… like someone of evil intent was about to manipulate the fusions. Her fears were confirmed when the fusions suddenly regained proper equilibrium and charged at the Uzumaki, knocking her off-balance.

"Ya-Yamiko-sama…" Mika groaned. "It would seem we are… no longer able to... continue combat operations…"

As Yamiko was about to respond…

"Oh, my goodness!" a vaguely familiar female voice said. "It seems like we need to do some house cleaning, don't you agree?"

Blinking, Yamiko struggled to turn towards the source of the voice, before her eyes widened in shock as several kunoichi and members of the Konoha ANBU made their appearance surrounding the fusions. In particular, the redhead of the group not clad in ANBU garb was definitely familiar somehow...

"Is anyone else here?" the redhead asked aloud… before finding Yamiko. "Eh? There _is_ someone else here! Medic! Take care of the little girl… and help her find her parents!"

The blonde was far too exhausted to respond to that, even as she collapsed on the ground while the medic-nin rushed to her side and began emergency healing. "Mi-Mika… and Hono...ka…" she got out before her vision completely faded.

* * *

><p><em>Back at the battle…<em>

"Now… how about we stop these entities before they can cause more casualties?" Kushina cracked her knuckles at that question.

"I suppose we should," Mikoto started channeling chakra to her eyes, as her Sharingan spun to life.

"Very well, I'll support you then, ufufufu~" Setsuna chuckled, doing the same as the Uchiha matriarch. Except her irises took on the shape of a clock's hands, before they started spinning counterclockwise. "A fighting style typical of that of a beast, but it seems we have a third party here controlling them…"

"Yes, a third party is more than likely controlling them," Kushina commented as she flipped through the hand seals and stopped on the Tora seal. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Kushina inhaled a large amount of air, before exhaling and spitting out a massive fireball from all the chakra that she put into it.

"How would you know, Kushi-chan?" Setsuna asked as she watched the fireball slam into one of the fusions, knocking it onto its side.

"They're moving too much in sync for it to be any other way," Kushina answered, even as the other fusion managed to pick up the one that was knocked down. "For the time being, we need to crush these beings with whatever power we can muster, if we even need to use all our power in one go."

"From what I can tell of the creatures that were being controlled earlier…" Setsuna scanned the battlefield where she knew the wolves had previously been fighting. "That's the only way to take them down for good. Anything less than fatal will have no effect. And we'll be needing some really high-powered jutsu for it."

Nodding, Kushina ran through the hand seals some more, even as the others prepared to use some of their advanced jutsu on the fusions. Kushina finished her second jutsu as the other mothers neared finished on their end. "Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba!" Kushina yelled, even as she held her hand out and started slashing at the fusions with the blade of wind.

The wind blades pretty much just washed over the fusions with no noticeable effects, as the creatures turned towards the mothers and roared as one, before charging them as well.

"Buy me 4 minutes and I'll find a weakness or two!" Setsuna called out, even as she started weaving hand signs before covering her right eye with her hand. "Kakogan, level 4!" With that, her visible left iris gained an ethereal silver glow as the clock hands began to spin even faster.

Drawing a tanto, Kushina turned to her ANBU and ordered, "Cover Secchin! Don't let her get hurt by these monsters!" Turning to face the other mothers, she yelled, "Hito-chan, Miko-chan, prepare to deal massive damage!"

"I'll seal its movements!" Hitomi called out as she rushed forward, her own doujutsu activated causing the veins around her eyes to bulge slightly.

Mikoto followed suit with a frown. "There's a strange energy in the creature that I've never seen before, and it doesn't seem to have chakra for whatever reason… No time to think about it. Hito-chan, you'll probably need to hit its pressure points instead of its tenketsu."

Hitomi nodded, before rushing at the fusions with a modified version of the Jyuken, stopping when within half a meter away from the monsters. "You are now within range of my divinations… Hakkeshou Kaiten!"

The fusions were thrown back slightly when the sphere of chakra spun to life immediately ahead of them, but managed to dig in and prevent themselves from sliding too far back owing to their weight. However, before they even got the chance to try and counter attack, several fireballs slammed into them. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Mikoto called out, continuing to spew fireballs at a rapid machine gun-like speed.

Kushina dashed forward, aiming to disable the fusions in one way or another, even as she swung her tanto at one of them from behind the beast. Before the swing could connect with the creature's back, the fusion's tail shot up to try stabbing her, prompting her to move out of the way and even _cut_ the monster's tail off a meter from the tip!

Mikoto rushed in, using the opportunity to form hand signs before jamming her fingers into the fleshy cross section of the monster's tail and trying to ignore the squishy feeling. "Raiton: Jibashi!" she roared, using the monster's flesh as a medium to channel lightning throughout its body from within, causing it to thrash around in pain, eventually managing to throw the Uchiha matriarch off.

"I suppose that's one weakness…" Setsuna blinked in surprise as she kept studying the creatures.

Hitomi used that moment to gather chakra into her palm and thrust it at the fusion missing a meter of tail, yelling out, "Hakke Kuushou!" As soon as the attack was used, a wave of chakra was pushed towards the monster, knocking it towards a tree and impaling it on a branch.

"I got it!" Setsuna shouted, even as she reached out with one hand and summoned a longbow from a seal on her palm. She drew the line taut, while focusing her chakra into the arrow that had appeared on the string. The head of the arrow glowed red before bursting into flames. "Katon: Bakuhatsu Yajirushi!"

The arrow flew true and struck its target - the base of the neck on the second creature's back. Lodging into it, she formed a seal, channeled chakra and smiled as the arrow ignited into a fiery explosion _inside_ it that knocked it over and damaged its spine.

Kushina ran forward and ran her tanto through the fusion's heart, ending its life, before withdrawing her blade from the monster. Upon looking around the clearing, however…

"Eh? Where'd that giant scorpion corpse come from? In fact, where did the corpse of that lion and woman come from?" Kushina questioned.

"These creatures are apparently called manticores," Setsuna resealed her bow and stepped up to the corpses that had appeared out of nowhere. "Where they're from, it seems they're amalgamations of lions, scorpions and people." She frowned as she knelt down beside the woman's corpse.

"What's wrong, Secchin?" Kushina asked her silver-haired friend, walking up to the corpse.

"Those manticores weren't from this world, Kushi-chan," Setsuna looked up, her Kakogan still spinning in her uncovered left eye. "I'm looking into their past, but I definitely don't recognize any of the places or architecture they've seen. Or at least this woman has seen."

Kushina and Hitomi looked in the direction of the other manticore, only to discover that the human corpse was that of a man, not that of a woman. "Er, Secchin, what about the man over there?" Hitomi asked.

Setsuna got up as well to examine the man's corpse. Frowning, she shook her head. "The two poor people were abducted while on a date," she sighed.

At that point, a trio of gasps were heard, prompting the mothers to look in the direction of Konoha… or, more specifically, the direction of a bush on the way to Konoha.

* * *

><p><em>Behind the bush…<em>

"Oh shit," Kagami muttered, watching as her mother turned to face the bush they were hiding in, her Kakogan already spinning.

"You two are in _so_ much trouble, I hope you realize," Shiori said softly.

"Not like we have a choice…" Naru pointed out. "Besides, I know where the puppeteer is, and I know he hasn't moved at all since the whole thing started."

"Ara ara, it seems our children are being naughty again…." Setsuna smiled ominously, still staring at the bush.

Kushina facepalmed upon hearing the news. "Young ladies, if you don't come out _now_, I'll use that bush for target practice with you still in it!"

Kagami paled and all but dragged the other two girls out into plain sight. Once out, she paled even further when she saw exactly what her mother was doing...

"Uh… is that supposed to work on me?" Naru asked, tilting her head at the sight of the Noh Mask of Doom.

"How can you be immune to it!?" Kagami cried out pitifully as she ran to hide behind the former male. "Okaa-san, that's not fair!"

"Ara? What could you possibly be talking about?" the elder silverette asked with a faux-innocent smile, even as the mask dissipated into thin air without a trace.

Shiori, much like Kagami, was hiding behind Naru while the mask was active. "P-P-P-Please don't use that mask again!" Shiori stammered.

"Like I said, what could you possibly be talking about?" Setsuna simply tilted her head to one side in false confusion.

With a sigh, Naru said, "Forget it, Kagami-chan, Shiori-nee. She won't give up the rights to her secrets any time soon."

"She's always like that whenever someone asks about it…" Kagami slumped in defeat. "Great, and Hanami learned it too, so she'll definitely be doing the same to us in the future…"

"I thought Fubuki-chan also learned it?" Naru asked.

"I was trying not to think of that!" Kagami groaned, cradling her head. "Can't you let me wallow in denial for a bit longer? I'm the only one in the family that doesn't know how to use that mask now!"

"Well… as much as this conversation is enlightening," Kushina spoke up, "I'm afraid that—"

**_"_****_My, oh my,"_** a man's voice could be heard from all around. **_"What a peculiar group of children… and one of them is a male inside a female body?"_**

Instantly, the adults closed ranks around the children, forming a circle as they faced outwards, weapons at the ready. "So… I see our mysterious puppeteer has decided to show himself…" Setsuna muttered.

**_"_****_Oh, not at all, your ladyship,"_** the man's voice said. **_"Instead, I should be taking my leave soon enough… after confirming something about the children. If you don't mind…?"_**

"You will not be confirming anything about the children, coward!" Mikoto hissed. "Come on out!"

As if ignoring the enraged mothers, the man asked, **_"What happens when you mix White and Black?"_**

Naru took a moment to think it over, before she answered, "Necromancy."

"Don't answer him, Naru-chan!" Hitomi urged, expanding her Byakugan search radius to the maximum she could go in an attempt to look for the mystery man.

Further ignoring the mothers, the man continued, **_"What is the Spiritual side of a Martial Artist's power?"_**

"Wouldn't that be Ki?" Kagami tilted her head to the side slightly, confused as to the nature of the questions.

"You shouldn't be answering him either, Kagami!" Hitomi groaned.

At this, the man continued again, **_"Oh, don't worry, Ojouchan, this next question will be the last headed their way. Now… Psychic Power. Genetic, or can anyone learn how to use it?"_**

Shiori blinked, before answering, "It's genetic, like a Kekkei Genkai, but really difficult for someone to control how to use whatever power they received."

"I think our girls need some lessons on not talking to strangers," Kushina facepalmed.

Chuckling ominously, the man said, **_"That confirms what I wanted to know… and, with that, I'll take my leave. Of course, you have polite girls, compared to your rude selves…"_** As if on cue, the voice faded, leaving them alone and without knowing where the voice came from.

"Tch, if anyone's rude, it's that guy… not showing himself to us," Mikoto muttered as she stood down, no longer sensing any more presences around them. "Secchin, did you get anything?"

"You should know I can't use my Kakogan on a disembodied voice," Setsuna sighed. "I wish I could though."

"Um, okaa-san," Naru spoke up, getting her mother's attention, "the owner of the voice was 3 kilometers out to my 10:30, on top of a tall tree."

The ANBU around the group spared only a moment's glance at the young redhead before they jumped off in the direction that she had indicated as fast as they could, despite knowing that they weren't really that likely to catch the guy. "I never took Naru for a sensor type," Hitomi said, blinking in surprise. "I can't pick up anything in that direction…"

"Hyuuga Hitomi-dono, I don't think the man has any chakra to pick up on," Naru said, baffled by what she was saying.

"Just like the manticores earlier?" Setsuna frowned. "That's… troubling. I didn't get a good description of him from the manticore's memories either…"

"Naru, how did you pick up on the man's energy?" Kushina asked her son-turned-daughter.

"Okaa-san, you mean to say you couldn't?" Naru blinked in confusion. "He radiated a large amount of it, larger than anything I've felt before since I've been alive, and I never really felt anything larger than a puddle in comparison before!"

"It might have something to do with that strange energy that I felt coming off the manticores," Mikoto turned to look at the separated components of the fusions with a frown. "Perhaps none of our doujutsu are particularly sensitive to it…"

"Who knows, Uchiha Mikoto-dono?" Naru asked. "I feel that it might have to do with where they came from, if anything."

"…Naru is being oddly respectful after being turned into a girl, isn't she?" Mikoto blinked.

Blinking, Naru asked, "Wait, really? I didn't want to overdo being respectful, but it seems like I'm being overly so… my apologies." With that, she bowed in a traditional style, her red shirt unintentionally showing off what cleavage she had to the adults.

"It's definitely being overly respectful, not that I have anything against it, ufufufu~" Setsuna chuckled, but her face then turned serious. "Still, I believe our… naughty children are in need of some punishment for sneaking out like this, no?"

Shiori scooted away carefully, saying, "I wasn't in on sneaking out. _I_ wanted to keep them out of trouble!"

"Umm, it was her fault!" Kagami hurriedly pointed at Naru, cold sweat pouring from her brow.

"No, Kagami-chan, don't pin the blame on me!" Naru pointed at Kagami in return.

"Shiori-chan I can understand… but you two don't exactly have the best reputation, Naru-chan, Kagami-chan…" Mikoto admonished, even as she backed away slightly from the aura of doom rising from the Yukikaze and the Uzumaki matriarchs standing nearby.

Kushina shook her body in barely concealed rage, before she proceeded to yell at the two troublemakers…

* * *

><p><em>With the puppeteer a few minutes later…<em>

"My, oh my…" a young looking man with platinum-blonde hair and steel eyes said, even as he stood on top of a tree 3 kilometers out from the group he was talking to some minutes ago. "I never would have imagined the women of this dimension to have such dense lungs, given the amount of yelling that happened in that direction."

Taking a step off the top of the tree, the man ended up going into a freefall, landing in a rolling crouch onto his feet. "Still, I never would have expected to be found by anyone at all while on assignment, much less by a little kid who shouldn't even have access to Ki," he spoke as he got up. "Well, no matter… I'll just report this to my superiors when I get back home."

Taking out a glowing mirror, he looked into it, even as he started to speak again. "Anfa—"

Before he could finish speaking the activation word, however, the mirror dimmed to the point of non-usage. "What?!" he grunted out. "Why am I not able to use my way home?!"

_"__Lucas Calador, registration number 103221. Portal access denied."_

"What the…?" the now-identified Lucas Calador breathed out. "Why is my access denied?!"

_"__Your mission is incomplete, Mr. Calador. Further mission objectives have been forwarded to you for completion before you may return. They are as such: Locate the realms of the Summon Beasts and exterminate them. Destroy the masses of energy known as Bijuu. Make preparations for an invasion force to arrive in exactly 7 years, 11 months, 25 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 37 seconds."_

Lucas was about to open his mouth and retort, but stopped with an open mouth for a few seconds. "Amanda, _what_ have I told you about blocking my access for imaginary reasons?" he finally questioned the person on the other end.

_"__Mr. Calador, that is being rude. I have never blocked your access for so-called imaginary reasons," _Amanda snarked back.

Lucas sighed, before he said, "Okay, Amanda, you win… how far up do these orders come from?"

_"__The orders cannot possibly come from any higher, Mr. Calador,"_ came the reply.

Lucas blinked, before his eyes widened, almost bugging out. "You mean… from _Barnabas_?!"

_"__Correct, Mr. Calador. Must I repeat myself?"_

With a sigh to regain his composure, Lucas answered, "No, I guess you don't, Amanda. Okay, before I do either of the first two, how am I supposed to locate them? I don't suppose you have a map handy for me… do you?"

_"__Figure it out yourself, Mr. Calador."_

Lucas sighed again, "Nothing to help me find my objectives, Amanda? How am I supposed to find them if there's no map to help me?"

_"__Do I have to repeat myself, Mr. Calador?"_

Knowing that continuing like this was a fool's errand, Lucas answered, "Shutting up."

_"__Good. Now, would you _kindly _release me to perform my other duties? I have better things to do than deal with you."_

Without a word, Lucas turned off the communication's device, before he pocketed the mirror and the device. Before long, he started walking on towards the road, before he paused in mid-step about a meter away. "Wait a minute… where the hell is the nearest town in this backwater part of the multiverse?!"

"Avoid Konoha, which is the nearest town, for you will surely die in _that_ Ninja Village."

Lucas turned around to face the mysterious speaker, a cylinder in hand that emitted a blade of energy, and was about to slash at the person when he found his actions halted. "Wh-what?! Who the hell _are_ you?!"

"Someone who can help you," the masked man replied.

"You, help me?! How can you be of any help, bastard?! Also, how did you even stop my actions, Noh freak?!" Lucas demanded.

"How rude, this isn't even a Noh mask!" the man laughed, before he abruptly quietened down and said in an eerie tone, "As for how… I will only reveal how after you join us."

Lucas was about to retort when the words fully registered in his mind. "Wait… why should I join you?! I don't even know what group you represent! How am I supposed to know _anything_ if you don't tell me what you're about right now?!"

"Let's just say… our interests align in certain areas, although we wish for the Bijuu to be gathered under our banner instead of exterminated," the man stroked a nonexistent beard somewhat comically. "And our group is called… the Akatsuki."

Lucas was perplexed. For one thing, he had learned of a group with similar goals in this part of the multiverse, but he needed more information before he could come to a decision of what to do with this group. For another—

"We have all the… skills and connections you will find necessary to achieve your goal…" the man spoke in a tone that made it sound like he was smiling beneath his mask.

Lucas took a moment to think on this bit of information, before nodding. "Alright, you got yourself a deal."

"Excellent!" the man clapped once. "Now, let me show you to our headquarters…" he added as he grabbed hold of Lucas's shoulder and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

><p><em>Back where the convoy was attacked earlier…<em>

"Okaa-san, what happened to the girl who needed emergency healing?" Naru asked all of a sudden.

"She's stable, if a bit shaken, apparently," Kushina glanced over to where the medic-nin was still working on the young girl who had taken a claw to the midsection. "We'll need to bring her to the hospital for further treatment."

"I see… that makes sense, okaa-san," Naru said. "Well… hopefully she can explain what happened here."

"I hope so. Secchin, anything?" Kushina looked to the silver-haired woman.

With a nod, Setsuna looked at the girl and turned on her Kakogan. It only took a few seconds before she gasped, rubbed her eyes and gently tapped Kushina on the shoulder. "Kushi-chan, I think you know her…"

"Hmm? Who could she possibly be?" Kushina asked aloud, before walking over to the little girl.

"She identifies herself as… Kagekiri Yamiko," the Yukikaze matriarch dropped the bomb as she gazed at the girl's unconscious form, the minute jerk of Kushina's shoulder letting her know that she indeed knew her.

"Yamiko?!" Kushina gasped in shock. "But how?! I thought she was killed like the rest of the citizens of Uzushio!"

"I'll let her explain it to you once she wakes up - it's impolite to delve too much into other peoples' pasts without their consent when they're not enemies," Setsuna shook her head. "The bluenette is Mika, her golem creation apparently."

"Ah, yes, I remember Mika," Kushina nodded, before realizing something off. "Huh? Who could the third person be?"

"Uzumaki Honoka," Setsuna quickly identified. "It seems we have some interesting people who are about to join the village, ufufufu~"

"Eh?" Naru let out. "We're about to have more people join the village, including another Uzumaki?"

"Knowing your okaa-san, she won't let them go that easily," Hitomi chuckled, stepping up beside them. "Kushi-chan's that kind of person after all…"

"I'm sorry, did you say something derogatory about me?" Kushina glared at Hitomi for a fair bit.

"It's a compliment, Kushi-chan!" Hitomi chuckled as she patted her red-haired friend on the back and winked. "It's what makes you that good a Hokage anyway!"

"Um… I suppose you're right," Kushina admitted. "Still… please make sure to label compliments as such, alright?"

"Hai, hai," Hitomi waved in the air flippantly. "Now then, shall we get back to Konoha?"

"Yes, okaa-san, we shall," Shiori said. "Also, we need to knock some sense into Naru-nee and Kagami-chan."

"Oh yes, definitely…" Kushina chuckled darkly as her hair started flying, taking on the apparent form of nine fox-like tails swaying in the air behind her.

"Uh-oh… mercy?" Naru asked.

"Sorry… all out of it," the redheaded mother smiled ominously as she reached out and grabbed Naru by the collar, dragging her back towards the village.

"I don't get the same treatment, do I?" Kagami backed off slowly from her own mother, who was similarly exuding an aura of doom with the trademark Yukikaze Noh mask deployed full force.

Setsuna simply smiled in exactly the same way Kushina had, before following in her footsteps and grabbing Kagami's collar.

"Uwaaah, those two are scary," Mikoto stared at the two incredulously, secretly wishing she had some kind of apparition or tool she could summon to scare her own daughter with.

"Such is a mother's wrath," Hitomi shrugged, actually thinking the exact same thing as the black-haired Uchiha matriarch.

"Um… a little help with getting this tree off of the golem?" an ANBU asked from where Mika was located.

Mikoto blinked and shrugged. "Doton: Doryuheki!" A wall of earth rose up from under the fallen tree, pushing it up enough to allow Mika to be pulled out from under it.

"Thank you, Uchiha-sama!" the ANBU said, pulling Mika out of her previous spot.

"Sometimes it's better to know how to _use _the jutsu in your arsenal rather than just knowing how to _perform _it," Mikoto lectured smugly.

Hitomi bopped her friend offside the head for that one. "Miko-chan, don't say such things in a smug tone, alright?" Hitomi asked in a tone that didn't brooch arguments.

"Ow," Mikoto muttered, but stuck out a tongue at Hitomi in a prime example of maturity anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: And this is what happens when a schedule is broken down and forced into firewood. I sincerely apologize for the wait… this had been a complicated 16 days for this fic. Now, for those of you who had seen the previous version of this fic, you now get to see us go past this part of the story. I hope, for your benefit, that we can pull this story off to a great degree.<strong>

**In any case… Astral's turn!**

* * *

><p><strong>AstralXYZ: Yep, we're finally seeing progress past the two prototypes of this story! Well, the good news is that I'm officially on my semester break now, so I hopefully have more time to write. Plus, I'm not going to be as stressed out as I was before - definitely a huge plus. I hope that you guys continue to read this story, and if you like it, please drop a review!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Now… there will be a poll on my profile that will be of great importance. Simply put, if you want the story to continue in a certain way, be sure to vote for your favorite option. The poll itself will stay open for a few more chapters' worth of time… and, speaking of polls, I can't believe I forgot the one from the previous chapter! *bashes head on wall for a few minutes before calming down* Er… *ahem* sorry about that. Moving on.<strong>

**Again, no review corner in this chapter, that will be at the end of the story arc. For now, however, I will say that there's gonna be 16 total stories in this series of fanfics with a minimum of three story arcs each 'book'.**

**Now that I've said that… Astral and I sincerely hope you have fun with reading this story. I also hope that Astral and I can write the chapters to be a minimum of 10k words on average for the whole story (and each story in this series after).**

**See you when we see you!**

* * *

><p><strong>Jutsu List<strong>**:**

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique)

Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)

Katon: Bakuhatsu Yajirushi (Fire Style: Exploding Arrow)

Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba (Wind Style: Wind Sword)

Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder)

Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall)

Hakkeshou Kaiten (Eight Divination Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin)

Hakke Kuushou (Eight Divination Signs Air Palm)


	5. Chapter 4

**Xamusel: Well… 05:54 on 12/20/2014… hopefully Astral and I can hurry up the story telling. This is starting to get really, really, ****_really_**** annoying in that we can't hurry without some form of deadline. I think… this coming Christmas will be the deadline for this chapter.**

**Now… ironically, we're coming on the Christmas season just as the story goes into Christmas, itself. Hopefully we can make it in time for the next few chapters to be released by the end of January.**

**Now… forward and onward!**

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Book 0<em>**

**_Prologue Arc_**

**_Chapter 4_**

**_Jingle Bells, Youkai Smells_**

* * *

><p><em>December 23rd, later that year, Uzumaki Clan Compound…<em>

Naru was starting to get firmly annoyed with herself. For starters, she never really expected to have to deal with the shopping that came inherent with her new nature as a female, much less for a holiday that was only recently getting restarted in the Elemental Nations. Second on the list of annoyances, and perhaps most importantly…

"I… hate… TAMPONS!" Naru exclaimed.

…she had gone through her first period only less than an hour prior, which she realized wasn't fun for _anyone_.

"If you're going to stay a girl, you're going to need to get used to them…" Shiori pointed out, supervising the younger redhead.

"Easy for _you_ to say, Shiori-nee… _you_ haven't gone through the discomfort this caused yet!" Naru countered, pointing out the truth.

"W-Well… I'm… mentally prepared!" Shiori quickly bluffed.

"Uh-huh… right, like I can _believe_ that," Naru retorted dryly.

"We've had classes on it in the academy before!" Shiori shot back, folding her arms with a huff. "You didn't get to attend them because you were still a guy at the time…"

"Funny, I thought the first Kunoichi-only class was the day after I turned into my current form?" Naru asked in confusion.

"It was a special class that was held earlier," the slightly younger redhead pointed out. "It's pretty important after all, and some kunoichi start puberty earlier too."

"Yeah, right, I would've remembered hearing about the class immediately after the fact if it existed from your state of attitude, Shiori-nee!" Naru countered.

"Maybe if you weren't busy pulling a prank at the time that class was announced…" Shiori rolled her eyes.

Naru opened her mouth to retort, then paused. "Um… when was the class announced, and when did it happen?"

"About… a month or so before you turned into Naru?" Shiori thought for a moment before replying. "When you were pulling that one on the Inuzuka."

"Oh, right, _that_ day… I thought you were blushing from anger at being my nee-chan at the time I pulled the prank," Naru admitted.

"D-Don't remind me… that was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life too," Shiori blushed at the memory.

"Um… I'm gonna need a crash course on that lesson sooner or later, I'm sure of it," Naru said with a blush forming on her cheeks.

"We got The Talk that day too," the slightly younger redhead ducked her head with a massive blush. "You… probably might have it worse since you're going to need to know how to do… _it… _from both sides…"

Naru's blush deepened, before she said, "Yeeah… I'm gonna ask okaa-san for that lesson."

"Kagami-chan seemed a little excited after that particular lesson though," Shiori sighed in exasperation. "Hanami-chan just flat-out fainted and had to be given the lesson again later."

"Ouch… did Fubuki-chan have it as well?" Naru asked. "I mean, given that she's in our grade, despite being a year younger…"

"She skipped a year after all," Shiori mused. "And yes, she did. Surprisingly though, she was the calmest among the sisters during the talk."

"Well… now what?" Naru asked. "I mean, we need to go shopping for gifts, right?"

"Yup!" the other Uzumaki replied brightly. "It's my first time doing something like this…"

"Ano… do you mind helping me get into the rhythm of shopping for others, Shiori-nee?" Naru asked. "I mean, I'm somewhat confused by how it works in general."

"Well, just think of something thoughtful for the other people, I guess?" Shiori tilted her head to one side in thought. "I'm quite new to this Christmas shopping thing as well…"

"Hmm… good point, Shiori-nee," Naru said. "Still… I wonder what would help get people ready to accept the good cheer of the season?"

"Hey, you're the prankster who made everyone - well, maybe not everyone laugh with your pranks, shouldn't you know?" Shiori raised an eyebrow. The former prankster not knowing how to get people to cheer up for the season? Preposterous!

Naru was about to shake her head when an idea struck her. "I _got_ it!" she shouted.

Shiori took a step back at the sudden enthusiasm. Blinking several times, she looked at Naru and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I believe now would be the time to start a cover for my career as a Ninja, Shiori-nee," Naru answered. "I'll be a singer in a traveling musical band!"

Almost instantly, there was a loud crash as Shiori pulled a perfect face fault. She quickly got back to her feet and stared at the other redhead incredulously. "You? Sing?"

"Yes, Shiori-nee," Naru nodded. "You need to see this for yourself… I don't blame you for that. How about I show you my singing voice?"

"Ummm, okay…" Shiori nodded slowly as she seated herself on Naru's bed.

Naru started to practice her vocal chords, before she felt comfortable with her singing voice. At that point, she was ready.

_"__Kanashimi wo oshiete…"_

Shiori very nearly fell off the bed after hearing Naru's singing voice. Pulling herself up straighter, she simply stared at the slightly older redhead while her jaw hung agape in surprise.

_"__hitomi wo tojite itara kanashimi mo mienai to _

_nukumori shirazu ni ireba kizutsuku koto mo nai to"_

"Great, now I'm jealous," Shiori murmured, wishing she had as good a singing voice as her sister.

_"__omoidasenai, yasashii koe wo _

_tomurau mune no unabara"_

The most infuriating part was that she had been a girl much longer than her sister had, yet she had a voice this angelic with barely any practice! Life wasn't fair, Shiori decided.

_"__kieuseta kako kara, dareka ga yondeiru no _

_kanashimi wo kono te ni torimodosu toki wa itsu to _

_nido towa konai ima _

_anata no koto shika mienai"_

The sound of footsteps could be heard outside the room for a very brief moment.

_"__tooku de shizuka ni hikaru yasashii fune ga hitotsu _

_sakamaku nageki wo nosete mune no nanima ni kieru_

_shiranai hazu no nukumori mo naze _

_sagashite madou unabara_

_sazanami yurameite, inochi no fune wa yuku yo _

_hoshi hitotsu mienai namima wo koete sumumu yo _

_kurayami no mukou ni _

_anata no koto shika mienai_

_itsuka miteta namima shizukesa no hou e _

_umi no soko ni kieta yasashisa no hou e_

_aishiau mirai wo tashika ni shitteiru no _

_kanashimi wo kono te ni torimodosu sono toki made _

_nido towa konai ima _

_anata no koto shika mienai"_

Part of a head of silver hair peeked in from the open doorway not quite subtly enough.

"Um… did I go overboard?" Naru asked, acting oblivious to the silverette sticking part of her head in.

"I... I think you did," Shiori slowly said, her hands rising and beginning a slow clap.

"Wow… thank you, Shiori-nee," Naru beamed at her sister. "It means a whole lot to know that my singing can help lift people's spirits!"

"I still feel jealous," Shiori grumbled as she stood up and directed a hard look at the doorway. "At least your audience seems to be having a good time..."

There was a small yelp before three silverettes tumbled out into plain sight in a pile in the doorway. "Err, nice singing, Naru-chan?" the red-eyed of the trio said sheepishly, having been caught out.

Giggling, Naru said, "No need to worry, Kagami-chan, I knew you were there anyway… glad you liked my song."

"Sorry for eavesdropping," Fubuki apologized as she climbed off the pile. "But it's not every day you hear someone singing like that..."

"I'm rather curious, though…" Naru said, her eyes gaining a thoughtful look. "When did you three get in the house without us knowing about it?"

"We... kind of came here to ask you if you wanted to do some shopping together," Hanami confessed. "Your okaa-san let us in quietly. Last I saw she was running to get a camcorder..."

"Five ryo says that Mikoto-san, Hitomi-san and okaa-san find out about Naru-chan's singing before the end of the week," Kagami hurriedly said.

"Wait… okaa-san was going to record this?" Naru blinked in surprise. "Well… it's a good thing I wrote that song yesterday."

"I think it was a spur of the moment thing, but she's definitely got some part of your singing down on video," Hanami nodded.

"Y'know, this is gonna need to be a more permanent thing," Naru said. "I'm planning on doing some singing for the village, to help give people good cheer for the season, and give people hope."

"Like... what do they call it..." Fubuki scrunched up her face in an attempt to remember the correct term. After a while, she brightened up and said, "Carolling?"

"Eh? Oh, no, I was thinking of a concert, Fubuki-chan," Naru answered. "What made you think of carolling?"

"Well, you're supposed to go out singing Christmas songs, right? Some of our classmates were pretty interested in the idea..." Fubuki replied thoughtfully. Ino in particular seemed to be especially intrigued by the thought.

"Um… who came up with the idea for that?" Naru asked. "I don't remember that detail yet."

"I think it was Sakura-chan... but nobody seems to remember she was the one who suggested it," Hanami mused.

"Oh?" Naru blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize that she wanted to do more to remove her condition…"

"Well, who's to say we can't help her out?" Kagami grinned. "Maybe we can bring her shopping as well!"

"That…" Naru raised a finger to say something with it, but then lowered said finger. "Is a good idea, Kagami-chan… though I think I know how to help her more with this."

"Oh? Pray tell..." Kagami giggled as the girls pulled each other into a group huddle.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day…<em>

"Okay, girls, we need to get presents for the adults in our lives," Naru said. "This will include okaa-san's friend and said friend's golem, even Honoka-oba."

***THWACK!***

"Owie~!" Naru held the back of her head in pain from the knife hand to the head.

"Don't call me oba, that makes me feel really old!" said Uzumaki appeared out of nowhere with an irritated growl.

"Ack! I'm sorry, Honoka-nee!" Naru cried out.

"You better be," Honoka muttered as she left the scene.

Kagami snickered.

"Well… that went well," Naru commented. "How about we get gifts for everyone in our lives?"

"Oh, most definitely…" Kagami nodded happily. "Does that include each of us?" she looked around the group of girls.

"Umm… why am I here?" Sakura hesitantly raised her hand.

"Because we're trying to get you more open than how you've been since we've started getting to know you back in October," Naru answered.

"But… I don't know what to buy for you girls…" the shy pinkette whispered, fidgeting slightly under the gaze of the other girls. "And I don't think my parents will even look at anything I buy for them…"

"I'm open for surprise gifts in music, Sakura-chan," Naru admitted. "That'd help me with my own goal…"

"I'd be open for instruction manuals in how to act like a grown person, personally," Shiori said.

"Really, Shiori-chan?" Hanami stared at the redheaded Uzumaki incredulously.

"Shiori-chan, just take time to enjoy life as a kid first! We won't get to play around like this later on in our lives!" Kagami grinned cheekily.

"In regards to potential job choices for should I fail my final exams, I meant," Shiori clarified.

"You won't! Hanami-nee won't let you!" Fubuki patted Shiori on the back softly, glancing at Hanami to see her nodding.

"Um… could you make that in how to sing?" Shiori asked.

"E-Eh?" Sakura took a step back and blushed. "You… want me to teach you to sing…?"

"Actu… wait, you can sing?!" Shiori questioned Sakura.

The pinkette ducked her head in embarrassment. "I… I don't know why, but it's always come naturally to me…"

"Well, perhaps you could teach Shiori-nee how to sing later?" Naru asked. "Or… if not, you can give her some instructional materials for Christmas."

"I know, you can teach all of us to sing!" Hanami clapped her hands together with a smile. "And then we can go Christmas carolling together!"

"But _I_ wanted to perform a concert to do that…" Naru muttered.

"Wouldn't going out carolling be more fun, Naru-chan?" Kagami leaned against the Uzumaki, grinning. "Not to mention you still need to build up your reputation before you can perform a concert."

"Um… not what I had in mind, Kagami-chan," Naru said with a sigh. "I dunno, I think carolling would be a waste of my talents, at least at this stage."

"I mean… nobody's going to listen to a singer they know nothing about, Naru-chan," Hanami sighed. "No matter how good you are, if you don't have a good reputation, there won't be a lot of people coming to the concert anyway."

Naru was about to refute the logic of that argument, but then she thought about it. "Ugh… fine, Hanami-chan."

"Well, you can't really beat Hanami in a debate of logic now can you…?" Kagami chuckled. "I've been on the receiving end all too many times. Fubuki too."

Hanami stuck out a tongue at her twin sister.

"Except when she acts her age?" Naru asked.

Hanami's tongue made a hasty tactical retreat.

"I rest my case…" Naru said.

Sakura couldn't help chuckling slightly as the blue-eyed silverette blushed lightly and punched Naru's shoulder in retaliation, though there was no real force in it.

"Alright, let's go shopping, girls!" Shiori called out from near the entrance of the shopping center.

"Right!" the others responded - Sakura somewhat weakly.

* * *

><p><em>Hokage's Office…<em>

"Alright, Honoka-chan, where did you go this time?" Kushina asked the younger Uzumaki.

"Just went for a walk around the shopping area," Honoka sighed as she settled into one of the seats in the Hokage's office. "Not quite what I'm used to seeing at this time of the year."

"Well, I wanted to check up on you three, even Mika, to see how well you've adjusted to living here," Kushina explained from her desk. "Anyway, how _are_ you three holding up?"

"I do not see how holding up an object is related to our current residential conditions," Mika tilted her head to one side in confusion. All the other occupants of the room took a few moments to register her words before performing perfect face faults right out of their seats with loud crashes. The ANBU hiding on the ceiling somehow managed to do it right into the ceiling.

"Er… Mika, what I said was an expression," Kushina elaborated as she climbed back into her seat. "I meant it as, 'how are you three doing while staying in Konoha?'"

"Oh," Mika blinked. "I shall remember that for next time."

"In any case, Kushina," Yamiko said, "we're holding up pretty well, Mika and I. I just need to get a laboratory set up for Mika's maintenance… if that can be permitted."

"Well, any chance you can get some maintenance done on her… social abilities?" Honoka muttered, rubbing her temples as she looked at the golem in exasperation. "I don't think I can handle much more figures of speech flying over her head."

"I do not see any figurines of words flying over my head," Mika spoke up, still confused.

"I'll see what I can do, Honoka-san," Yamiko answered.

"I need some aspirin," Honoka decided as her forehead met the arm of her chair.

Kushina handed a bottle of aspirin to her younger relative and a glass of water. "How strong do you need it?"

"Enough to get Mika out of my head…" Honoka popped two tablets into her mouth before downing the water.

"My physical body would never fit inside your head, Honoka-san," Mika said.

Cue a fountain of water blasting out from Honoka's mouth hard enough to propel her backwards in her chair. After climbing back up and setting the chair back upright, she grumbled unintelligibly, sat down, popped in another tablet and swallowed it. "I swear she does it on purpose just to get me mad!" she jabbed a finger at the confused and socially-awkward golem.

"Mikaaaa…" Yamiko growled at her golem. "Are you doing this on purpose?"

"No, I am not," Mika blinked several times. "Am I to understand the meaning of those words are completely different as to how I interpret them?"

"To be blunt? YES!" Honoka yelled at the golem.

"Oh," Mika blinked again. "Again, I apologize for my lack of social skills. They were never prioritized during my education."

With an irritable sigh, Yamiko said, "I'm going to need to enroll her in a school one of these days…"

"Please make sure you do!" Honoka pleaded. "I don't care which one, even if it's the ninja academy!"

"Actually, that's a great idea," Kushina spoke up again. "I'm sure you and Yamiko would be interested in attending class together with my children, Mika, as well as the rest of the students in their class."

"That..." Yamiko paused for a moment as she considered the idea. "Might actually be a good idea. But you do realize I'm probably not going to learn anything from the classes that I don't already know?"

"I'm aware of that, actually," Kushina said with a nod. "Hence why I'll designate you as the class student tutor if you need it."

Yamiko processed the thought for several moments before she nodded. "That sounds like a better idea than just being a normal student. Mika, what do you think?"

"I will follow whatever your wishes are, Yamiko-sama," the golem replied indifferently.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. "Kushi-chan? Are you in?" Mikoto's voice was heard from the other end.

"That's… Uchiha Mikoto-san, am I right?" Honoka took a moment to recall the Uchiha matriarch's name.

"Yes, Miko-chan, I'm in!" Kushina answered Mikoto. Turning her attention to Honoka, she said, "Yes, that's a friend of mine, named Uchiha Mikoto."

"Users of the Sharingan…" Honoka nodded sagely. "It's little wonder Konoha is one of the strongest Hidden Villages out there with their support."

"Of course, that leads to a major ego that the whole village is keeping in check," Kushina commented. "Miko-chan is aware of the blindspots of the Sharingan… hence why she helps keep that ego in check."

"And if I wasn't there, half the Uchiha clan might've rebelled by now," Mikoto sighed as she entered the room and planted herself down on the couch beside Yamiko. "I suppose it really helps being the wife of Uchiha Fugaku."

"You mean he's whipped?" Yamiko blinked.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that," Mikoto said, turning to face the young blonde. "Now… how are you liking Konoha in comparison to when you were a citizen of Uzushio?"

"It's definitely a completely different city…" Yamiko smiled wistfully as she looked out the window. "Then again, as the de facto princess of Uzushio I didn't get to go out much unescorted. It's a really big difference compared to walking around together with Mika only."

"That is true, Miko-chan," Kushina nodded in agreement. "It also hurt her chances for going out that she was considerably smarter than most adults _combined_, meaning there were people from all over that wanted to abduct her for their own purposes, if anything."

"Especially when you're the only one in the country that managed to figure out how to channel chakra into non-physical projectile attacks," the diminutive blonde unsealed one of her handguns for a brief moment. "I'm still working on incorporating elemental chakra though…"

"Yamiko-sama also created me," Mika added helpfully.

"Yes, that makes sense," Mikoto nodded sagely. "Now… it's about time for the others to show up."

"Oh? What for?" Kushina asked.

"Well, you decided it was a good year to celebrate Christmas…" a very familiar feminine voice spoke up from the doorway.

"And there's one tradition during Christmas…" another voice continued.

"Where we get to…"

Setsuna and Hitomi burst into the room cheerfully with a loud fanfare and accompanying confetti, holding wrapped boxes. "Swap presents!" they shouted in unison.

Blinking, Mika asked, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Hitomi grinned.

"Produce the fanfare and confetti," Mika elaborated.

"Oh, that," Setsuna blinked before making a hand sign together with Hitomi. Several puffs of smoke from outside the doorway alerted the group to the dispersal of several kage bunshin.

"Oh," Mika said.

"Well… too bad I left my gifts for you at home," Kushina said, a sad expression on her face.

"Couldn't you just shunshin back home and get them in a flash or something?" Mikoto suggested even as she unsealed her own pile of presents from a scroll.

Blinking, Kushina facepalmed, before grabbing a tri-pronged Kunai from inside the desk. "I can't believe I forgot about the Hiraishin…" she muttered.

"Much better," Setsuna grinned.

One quick flash of speed later, Kushina was gone, but only for a few minutes at most. When she reappeared, there were three bags of gifts in each hand, all from her. "I hope you all will enjoy these gifts I handpicked for you."

"And you, ours!" the other mothers chirped happily as they presented their gifts to the redheaded Hokage.

Kushina blinked in a bit of surprise, before she walked over to the non-mothers and said, "Here you go, Yamiko, Mika, Honoka-chan." With that, she extended her right hand and deposited a bag to each of them.

"U-Uh, thanks…" Honoka accepted hers somewhat nervously, as did Yamiko. Mika, unsure how to react, just accepted her bag and stood there dumbly staring at it.

"You're welcome," Kushina smiled serenely. Turning to face her adult friends, she extended her left hand and deposited a bag each to them. "And these are for you, Miko-chan, Hito-chan, Secchin."

"Ufufufu, I hope you enjoy mine too…" Setsuna giggled, taking her own bag.

"That giggle tells me she gave us something indecent again," Mikoto slumped as she eyed the pile of presents sitting on the ground that the silverette hadn't given out yet.

"Is there a time when she _didn't_ give anything indecent?" Kushina asked.

"You wound me, Kushi-chan…" Setsuna faked a hurt look.

"And we love you for it, Secchin," Kushina added.

Grinning, Setsuna handed out her gifts next, leaving the trio of newcomers for last. "Sorry, I couldn't quite think of anything for you three. I hope this helps though," she smiled as she left a box in each of their hands.

Mikoto handed her gifts right after. "I hope my gifts can be seen as more decent…" she added.

"Umm, can we open them now? I have to admit I'm not familiar with the tradition," Yamiko asked hesitantly.

"Actually, the tradition goes that, once everyone has passed out gifts, then you can open them," Hitomi explained. "So… with that, I'll pass out my gifts, everyone."

"Sorry we didn't get anything for you…" Honoka apologized.

"No need to apologize, Honoka-chan," Kushina said. "You need to get used to the whole concept of the season… nothing wrong with that."

"I suppose so…" the younger Uzumaki sighed as she watched everyone else accept their gifts from the Hyuuga matriarch.

"Okay, everyone, from youngest to oldest," Kushina said, getting the attention of the others. "In this case… that means Yamiko first."

"Urgh, I feel _really _left behind now," Yamiko muttered, glaring at Kushina (especially at her chest) as she set her gifts on the desk and began the process of opening them one by one.

Deciding to leave the apparently most indecent one for last, she set Setsuna's gift aside, not missing the way she pouted at being singled out. Deciding that her old friend's one would probably be the most beneficial, she opened the bag and blinked when she saw the contents. The elder Uzumaki had definitely not let her down at all.

"Well?" Kushina asked her best friend. "What do you think of my gift?"

"Definitely useful in the long run!" Yamiko couldn't help letting a grin stretch out across her face as she pulled out several scrolls, labelled for various ninja arts as well as several ninja tools and armour. Training scrolls were always useful! Of course, unless she already knew them… but she had a feeling she had missed out on a lot in the field of jutsu development during the many years she had been stuck in cold sleep.

Kushina looked at Yamiko for a small bit, before eying the bag she gave her friend. "Yamiko, you didn't get to the rest of the gift yet," she said.

Blinking, Yamiko looked back into the bag before pulling a few scrolls marked as supplies. "Wait, these are for…"

"Yep, each bag for you, Mika and Honoka-chan has supplies for living in Konoha that are already paid for," Kushina elaborated. "Now you can have a fully stocked home for later on."

Yamiko had to suck in a tearful breath as she stood up, walked over to her friend and wrapped her arms around her waist, grumbling slightly when she realized Kushina's bust was at the perfect height to rest on her head, as if poking fun at her height relative to her friend of the same chronological age. She pushed those thoughts aside for now though. "Thanks… Kushina."

"You're welcome, Yamiko," Kushina said, even as she stroked the back of her friend's head.

Smiling, the diminutive blonde returned to opening the next gift from Hitomi, a squat, but wide rectangular box. Yamiko blinked when she opened it up and saw the oddly-styled dress inside.

"Um… thanks, I guess…" Yamiko said, unsure how to best word her surprise. "How do you put it on?"

"This is in a style brought here by a trader from a distant continent to the west, Yamiko-chan," Hitomi supplied helpfully. "You just pull it on and there will be a zipper on the back to tighten the fit."

"Oh?" Yamiko asked, before she grinned. "I'm grateful for this, too!"

"It's supposed to be worn to formal occasions. I believe you'll turn a few heads if you do that to a party or something," Hitomi smiled. "And it has an auto-resizing seal on it too, so it should be good for you for a few more years at least, until you outgrow the style."

"Is that right?" Yamiko asked, looking at the dress. Looking away from the present after a small bit, she smiled. "Thank you!"

"Go ahead, open mine!" Mikoto encouraged with a cheeky grin at the silverette in the room, who simply smiled back.

"Okay, on it now," Yamiko said with a nod. With that, she opened her gift from the Uchiha matriarch, revealing…

"You're physically a bit too young, but I think you'll grow into those soon enough," Mikoto smiled as Yamiko pulled out a set of training weights made to go around her arms and legs. "You'll definitely need to use them at one point or another."

"Thank you, Mikoto-san," Yamiko replied, before a thought struck her. "Also, are the weights connected to a person's chakra in that they add weight to themselves when a person puts chakra into them?"

"Unfortunately no, but I'm pretty sure Kushi-chan can help you work something out," Mikoto sheepishly admitted, looking to the redheaded Hokage for help.

Kushina nodded at that. "I'll do what I can to help you in that regard, Yamiko," Kushina said.

"And now for the last one…" the blonde hesitantly pulled up the box that the silver-haired Yukikaze matriarch in the room had given her… the matriarch that was currently sporting a wide grin that the surviving Kagekiri was trying not to look at.

"It's not that vulgar… Ufufufu~" Setsuna giggled.

"I'll be the judge of that," Yamiko said, shaking her head in slight embarrassment. Upon opening the box…

"Well, I certainly couldn't buy what I bought for the others for you… so I had to make do with that," Setsuna said, maintaining an almost perfectly straight face, were it not for the corners of her mouth twitching upwards slightly.

"…you got us underwear?" Yamiko asked incredulously.

"It's auto-resizing underwear! And it's durable enough for your training… and it'll last you until your teens, probably," the silverette explained, trying to sell her idea to the young Kagekiri. "I'll get you something else then."

"No, no, that's not a problem," Yamiko said, mostly to assuage Setsuna's fears. "I just… well, I never thought I'd need underwear, for the most part."

"Well… I'll have you know that these things are not easy to carry around without some additional support," Setsuna crossed her arms under her bust. "And you never know how big you might get in the future… ufufufu~"

"Uh-huh… I see now," Yamiko said with a sigh. "Well… since Mika's actually a fair bit older than she looks, why not let Honoka-san go next?"

The younger Uzumaki started slightly, before she looked hesitantly at her batch of gifts. "W-Well, okay…"

Soon enough, Honoka had all her gifts opened, revealing much the same as what Yamiko had received. Eventually, it was Mika's turn, given that she was chronologically in her mid-20s… and she, too, received much the same as what Yamiko did.

"Yamiko-sama, how am I supposed to respond to this?" the golem asked her creator in confusion as she gazed at the pile of gifts on the table.

"You're supposed to say, 'Thank you very much'," Yamiko answered.

"I see. Thank you very much," Mika mirrored Yamiko's answer as she bowed slightly towards the mothers.

"You're welcome, Mika," Kushina bowed slightly towards the golem. "Now… it's Hito-chan's turn next."

"Oh, alright," Hitomi stepped forward and opened up her assortment of gifts. The very first one slightly stumped her though, as she pulled out a set of something pure white, and very much lacy from a box.

"Um… that's probably what we thought Secchin was going to give," Kushina said, before she facepalmed.

Setsuna giggled cheekily. "Something for… bedroom use, maybe more if you feel like it," she elaborated somewhat mysteriously.

"What does a bedroom need anything for?" Mika asked confusedly.

Yamiko and Honoka were looking away with bright blushes adorning their cheeks. "Mi-Mika… this is one of those things you aren't supposed to ask about in public," the former whispered in a low tone, far too embarrassed just looking at what the Hyuuga matriarch was holding.

"Oh? But we're not in public?" Mika asked even more confusedly.

"Shut up, Mika," Honoka muttered.

"In any case," Kushina said, getting the attention drawn to her. "What Secchin decided to give us is going to be kept for specific times… not counting now. As for other gifts…"

Hitomi nodded, coughing slightly to hide her embarrassment as she put the offending piece of almost-underwear back into the box and looked to the next one, Kushina's bag.

"Well?" Kushina asked her. "Aren't you going to open it?"

"Secchin's gift was just a little shocking, that's all," Hitomi explained, taking a deep, but quick breath to regain her composure before opening up the bag.

When Hitomi took out her gift…

"How do you like it?" Kushina asked her.

"Isn't this a jonin flak jacket?" a confused Hyuuga matriarch took out the green jacket inside the bag, along with several assorted ninja tools. "Kushi-chan, you know I retired from the ninja corps years back… I hung up my jacket long ago. That mission where we ran into the manticore was just me helping you to find the children..."

"And said mission was only meant for active duty ninja, Hito-chan," Kushina answered. "Besides, consider yourself reinstated because of the children… they need protecting, due to someone targeting them."

"That puppeteer, right?" Setsuna nodded gravely, that night's events still burning brightly in her mind, especially considering one of her own was among the targeted. "Hito-chan, you know as well as we do that we consider each other's children almost as our own as well. I hate to spoil the mood, but if Kushi-chan wants us to do this - and I suspect there's a flak jacket in my present as well - I'm re-enlisting."

"Of course," Kushina said, waving her hand around a bit, "That's assuming there _is_ a flak jacket there, Secchin."

Setsuna tapped her right eye, where her Kakogan was already activated with its clock hand-shaped irises spinning. "I just checked," she chuckled.

"Ah," Kushina said, dropping her head.

"And next up is Miko-chan's…" Hitomi nodded as she pulled up the bag from Mikoto and opened it up.

"Hmm?" Yamiko looked at the box, wondering what could be inside it.

Mikoto leaned forward in her seat as the Hyuuga matriarch inspected the box. When Hitomi gave an approving nod and opened it up, she gasped in surprise. "Miko-chan, this is…!"

"To symbolize our friendship," Mikoto elaborated, even as a pendant with the opening characters of their given names in the jade gemstone was revealed.

"It's beautiful…" Hitomi smiled, examining the pendant closer before she unclasped it and put it around her neck tearfully. "Although I honestly thought you'd give me something functional, but this is great too!"

"I aim to please my friends, Hito-chan," Mikoto said with a nod, even as she loosened the neck of her yukata slightly and pulled out a similar pendant.

"Definitely a meaningful gift," Setsuna smiled. "We'll treasure it for the rest of our lives, Miko-chan!"

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes later…<em>

"Well, that takes care of the gifts for each other," Kushina said with a sigh. "To be honest, though, I was expecting some extra gifts out of this."

"Kushi-chan is too demanding, ufufufu~" Setsuna giggled teasingly.

Yamiko sighed. "Is it just me, or do you have more to worry about than gifts for each other?" she asked. "I mean, what about gifts for others in your families?"

"I made sure to prepare everything before I came here," Hitomi nodded. "I happened to bump into Secchin in the shopping district too, and we both sent kage bunshin back to package the gifts to give out later too."

"As for myself, since I can't speak for Kushi-chan," Mikoto said. "I still need to prepare gifts for my children, even for Mito… who, for clarification purposes, has not been taking her gender all that well, comparably."

"Actually…" Kushina started. "I still need to prepare gifts for my kids as well."

"Kushi-chan, do you know what you're going to give them?" Hitomi asked.

"Regrettably, no, I don't," Kushina sighed at that. "I only have a vague and very slight idea of what they want, even more so with Naru."

"Well, you can't get her pranking supplies…" Setsuna mused, a slight aura of doom leaking out from her as she was reminded of Kagami's prankster days that had only recently ended.

"I wasn't planning on it," Kushina shook her head. "I was hoping to give both of them something meaningful, but I don't know what would be meaningful for either of them."

"Must be nice to have children to dote on…" Yamiko sighed, running her hands over her comparatively much younger body. "I missed out on quite a lot thanks to the cold sleep…"

"I don't blame you, Yamiko," Kushina said to her best friend. "Then again… where are Mika and Honoka-chan?"

Blinking in surprise, the young Kagekiri looked around her and realized that her golem and the other Uzumaki had disappeared from the room. "That's a very good question," she stated dumbly.

"Well, I think you'd best go find them," Kushina encouraged. "It's your responsibility to make sure Mika stays in top condition… right?"

"I guess so…" Yamiko scratched her head sheepishly as she stood up from the couch. "Well, I guess I'll be off then."

After Yamiko walked out with her gifts, Kushina asked, "So… who here knows what to give Shiori and Naru?"

"Underwear!" Setsuna giggled.

Kushina's face met her desk. "Is there anything _else_ that they can receive?"

"Formal dresses?" Hitomi raised her hand.

"Jewellery?" Mikoto put forth.

Kushina raised her head at Hitomi's suggestion and blinked at Mikoto's. "Hmm… what kind of both?" she asked, before she shook her head. "Actually, maybe I'll lump in the underwear after all."

"We were just suggesting what we gave ourselves though," Mikoto blinked in surprise at the redhead accepting their suggestions on the first shot.

"I'm still open to suggestions, though," Kushina clarified. "Hopefully the suggestions will do good."

"Board games? Let them be kids for once," Hitomi suggested.

"That's not a bad idea, Hito-chan," Kushina nodded.

"Plushies?" Setsuna added.

"Hmm… sounds legit," Kushina acquiesced.

"Jigsaw puzzles?" Mikoto suggested.

"Well… that sounds like it'll work well enough," Kushina nodded again. "Alright… time for me to go shopping for my kids."

"We'll leave you to it then, Kushi-chan," Setsuna grinned. "You don't need any more help with the paperwork, do you?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no," Kushina answered as she stood up from her seat. "Well… I think I'll take my leave for now."

"Go ahead, we have some other stuff to get done anyway," Mikoto nodded, getting up as well as she made a mental checklist of what she needed to get for her family later that day.

"Alright," Kushina said as she walked to the door. "Well, I'll see you later!"

"Merry Christmas!" the other mothers shouted out as the redhead exited via the door.

* * *

><p><em>With Naru's group…<em>

"Well, that's everything," Naru said as they hid all their presents away properly. "Now… let's get some food in our bellies!"

"The big question is… where?" Fubuki sighed, wiping a brow of sweat off her brow.

"I'd suggest Ichiraku's, but I have the feeling you'd veto that suggestion," Naru admitted.

"Of course we will," Kagami rolled her eyes. "We've eaten there at least five times this past week! No offense, but I'd like more in my diet than just ramen," she patted her stomach.

"None taken," Naru said. "Still, where do we eat? I'm still clueless about the other restaurants in the village…"

"We can just take a walk and see what we come across," Hanami suggested. "I'd like to try something new myself…"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Shiori nodded. "Now… which direction do we walk in in this situation?"

The group of girls looked around for the nearest signboard, even as they stood outside Naru's house. The street outside was quite busy with the Christmas cheer, with people walking around wearing stuff like christmas hats - the purple-haired lady walking past wearing an overly-revealing Mrs. Claus getup while chewing a dango stick did turn their heads for a moment though, considering how much she was showing off.

"Dango?" Kagami suggested.

"No," everyone else put their feet down.

At about that moment, Sakura noticed a sign for a restaurant in the shopping district that served foreign food, including… turkey? "I think I found the restaurant we'll go to," she said, pointing in the general direction of the eatery.

"What's turkey?" Fubuki asked in confusion after a few moments of studying the sign.

"It's apparently a type of bird that people eat in foreign lands," Sakura answered. "I'm pretty sure it tastes good, though I never tried it myself just yet."

"Something like chicken?" Hanami tilted her head sideways. "It does look like chicken…"

"They might be related… somehow," Sakura said. "Still, let's go eat there!" With that, she enthusiastically pushed the other girls in that general direction.

"Sakura-chan seems a lot more livelier today than usual," Hanami noted with a smile. "It's nice to see that she's opening up to us more…"

"I think it's because she wants to try the turkey," Shiori stated, dubious to the whole aspect of Sakura opening up that fast.

The blue-eyed silverette sank slightly as she was pushed past a menu on a sign outside, only managing to get a short glimpse at it before the enthusiastic Sakura pushed them past it. "A-Anyway, what else do we order aside from turkey?"

"I think some figgy pudding would do good," Naru stated, smiling at the waitress that showed them to their seats.

The restaurant was rather packed for the day - the girls only just realized that prospective diners were starting to line up outside as they entered the restaurant. The place was decorated for the season, with white mistletoe lining the walls, and a large pine tree with Christmas decorations hung all over it placed in a corner, topped off with a golden star. Elaborately-decorated present boxes were placed at the foot of the tree, although none of the girls doubted that there was nothing inside aside from perhaps a few rocks to keep them weighed down.

The waiters and waitresses themselves were even dressed for the occasion, sporting Christmas hats similar to what the common folk outside were wearing, as well as red tunics with white trimming and their nametags displayed proudly on their lapels, lined with small green leaves. Overall the Christmas mood was definitely present, especially with the loud greeting of 'Merry Christmas!' that rang out throughout the restaurant every time the entrance bell rang signalling the entry of another group of diners.

"Um, Naru-nee," Shiori spoke up, "I think that's a dessert item."

Blinking, Naru looked at a menu and saw that, yes, figgy pudding was a dessert item. "Oh… right."

"Well, what about some cranberry sauce to go with the turkey?" Sakura suggested, after a quick look around to survey the other diners.

"Hmm… well, why not?" Naru answered. "I suppose we could try everything on the list at least once… right?"

"Not unless you have a bottomless stomach, Naru-chan…" Kagami blinked, looking around them at the portions of the food that had been served to the other customers as she took her seat at the table. "I know I don't."

"I dunno… those _are_ pretty big portions," Shiori commented, seeing the portions that Kagami saw.

"Just ask the waitress for recommendations then, this place's specialty dishes," Fubuki supplied a simple solution to their culinary predicament.

"That works, I believe," Shiori said.

"Ooooh, I'm getting hungry just looking at everyone else eating…" Kagami rubbed her belly enthusiastically, licking her lips in anticipation. "Look at all the good food... "

At that point, the waitress arrived. "Hello, may I take your orders?"

The girls studied the menu once more before they decided to order one dish per person. That done, everyone made their own orders after consulting with the waitress as to the restaurant's specialty dishes, although there was a slight lull when Hanami almost ended up ordering the same dish as Kagami and had to pick another one. In no time at all, the waitress was repeating their orders to make sure she got them right, while the girls nodded at each one and salivated at the delicious smell of food wafting across their noses from the other tables.

"After you're done dining, remember to pay at the counter, alright?" the waitress smiled at the group.

"No worries, we will," Naru answered for the group.

"Alright, your food should be ready in a few minutes," the waitress said, before taking all the menus save one and walking away to relay the orders.

"That being said… this is a lot of money we're going to be forking out for one meal…" Kagami muttered in awe as she looked at the remaining menu and started trying to calculate the money they would need.

"No worries, okaa-san will make sure everything gets paid off," Naru said confidently.

"Doesn't your okaa-san limit your allowance?" Hanami blinked. "I mean… our okaa-san only limits Kagami's allowance because she's more likely to spend frivolously…"

"Oi."

"Actually, not when it comes to eating out," Shiori commented. "Okaa-san has a separate fund for us when that happens."

"Your okaa-san is pretty confident in you two…" Fubuki blinked, somewhat surprised. "Kagami-nee once tried to pass off the money she used for prank materials as lunch money. Okaa-san wasn't too happy when she found out."

"Oi!"

"Well…" Naru began. "I'll admit that it took a fair bit of work, but okaa-san learned that I can be trusted with things that I wasn't able to prior to becoming, well… me."

"I wonder if okaa-san would give me back my spending money if I turned into a boy…" Kagami slumped onto the table bonelessly, feeling the hurt from her two sisters' previous jabs at her trustworthiness.

"Not likely, Kagami-chan," Naru commented to the downed girl. "_I_ certainly don't think that you'd get a complete 180 in personality from the gender change."

"Geh," the comment left Kagami reeling as if struck by an arrow. "Killjoy! Meanie! This is oppression of my financial freedom and individual rights I say!"

"No, it's the truth, Kagami-chan," Shiori replied. "If we were trying to oppress your financial and personal freedom, we'd not even bother pointing out the fallacies of your logic."

The entrance bell rang as Kagami flopped onto the table once again. "This is tyranny! Picking on the weak!" she complained loudly.

"You're not weak," came the astounding retort to that complaint from the rest of the group.

"And you girls are no fun," Kagami grumbled back at them.

Naru was the first to laugh at her friend's expense. "Sorry, Kagami-chan, you're just too easy to tease right now," she stated after calming down.

"That's supposed to be Hanami's role..." a disgruntled Kagami muttered, her face still buried in the tabletop.

"Eh? It is?" Naru asked aloud, before turning to Hanami. "Is this true, Hanami-chan?"

Hanami turned slightly redder at the revelation. "W-Well, Kagami used to... tease me about my crush..."

Naru blinked in surprise, before saying, "Well… as long as the crush wasn't who Mito-chan used to be."

The blue-eyed silverette blinked for a few moments as her brain processed the information. "Why would I have a crush on Sasuke-san?" Hanami asked incredulously with a hard look at Naru.

"_Exactly_," Naru commented. "I don't think _anyone_ has a crush on Mito-chan's old self, anyway."

"I heard that!" an indignant, feminine yell came from another part of the restaurant, one occupied by another group of girls.

"Eh?" everyone in Naru's group blinked and looked in the direction of the other group of girls. Surprisingly enough, the girls were all civilian students at the ninja academy except for…

"Oh, hello, Mito-chan," Naru waved at the other boy-turned girl.

"Don't 'hello' me so casually after what you were just talking about!" a girl with shoulder-length dark blue hair ending in a slight upward curl, with the usual dark Uchiha eyes dressed in a blue kimono with golden trim fumed as she walked over to the Uzumaki group's table. "It's your fault I have to deal with… this!" she gestured down at her own body.

Blinking, Naru asked, "Are you undergoing your monthly as well?"

Caught flat-footed, Uchiha Mito, formerly Uchiha Sasuke froze in her pose with an angry finger pointing at Naru. "Sh-Shut up!" she demanded, her cheeks turning scarlet and her outstretched arm trembling enough to completely throw off her previously intimidating look.

"Naru-chan, that's not something you're supposed to talk about in the open…" Hanami whispered.

"Erk!" Naru let out, standing stock still at that fact and almost knocking her chair over. "G-Gomenasai!" she bowed in apology.

"Hmph, at least you know when you're wrong this time around," Mito folded her arms over her chest. "And can't you at least be a little more quiet? The noise around here is annoying enough without you running your mouth…

Before Naru could snap off a retort, Shiori covered her sister's mouth with a hand. "She has a point, you know, Naru-nee," Shiori whispered into her ear. "Girls and women on monthlies tend to be more irritable than they normally would be."

"I heard that too!" Mito shouted irritably. "It's all because of you that I have to deal with the… the… indignity of it all!"

"Eh?" Shiori blinked in confusion. "I could've sworn you'd be adjusted to the female life like Naru-nee?"

"How could I?" Mito grumbled. "It's uncomfortable, people try to cozy up to me because they like me, I have to take care of my long hair because okaa-san refuses to let me cut it short, and there's this… this… monthly thing…"

"Err… Naru-nee deals with the monthly thing as well as any female like each of us, Mito-san," Shiori said finally. "As for the cozying up part, that shouldn't be a problem, especially since you're more likable as a girl than a guy." With a bit of a blush, she added, "If I wasn't straight, I'd say you were just my type, Mito-san… you're definitely easier on the eyes for most people."

Mito took a few moments to digest the information before her blush grew and she looked away while squirming slightly. "R-Really? B-But I'm a girl now…"

Shiori sighed for a bit, before she removed her hand from Naru's mouth, saying, "Believe me, you'll need to make your decision about your gender issue soon enough… much like Naru-nee has to do."

"Er, Shiori-nee," Naru started to speak up. "I'm not sure I want to revert to being a guy yet."

Hanami turned to look at Naru with puppy eyes while sniffling slightly. "B-But... we can't start a… a… family like this…" she whimpered.

"Eh?" Naru looked to Hanami and asked, "What do you mean, start a family?" Then it hit her. "Wait… you mean you're taking that marriage contract seriously at our young age?"

"She does like you, you know," Kagami quickly uttered, at the same time dodging Hanami's attempt to silence her by covering her mouth. After that, a burst of steam escaped the blue-eyed silverette's ears as she sank back into her seat trying to look as small as possible.

Naru's brain finally registered the words that Kagami uttered as something Hanami was trying to say. Taking a brief look at Mito, she said, "I'll be back with you momentarily." With that, she walked over to Hanami and helped her back into an upright position, saying, "Don't worry, Hanami… I like you like that, too, y'know?"

An even larger burst of steam escaped through Hanami's ears, this time sustaining itself for several seconds before stopping, complete with an audible whistling sound. "B-But we're both girls now…" she fidgeted nervously. "A-And… Kagami also-"

Kagami hurriedly clapped her hand over Hanami's mouth, but the damage was already done.

Blinking, Naru said, "I don't see a problem with that… as I am now, I believe I'm bisexual, though I lean more towards girls than guys."

"We-Well… I suppose now that both of us have been busted…" Kagami scratched her head sheepishly as she turned to look at Fubuki with a meaningful stare.

Fubuki blushed and folded her arms shyly as she tried to look everywhere except at her more outspoken older sister and Naru.

Suddenly, a chorus of loud growls occurred at the same time, drawing everyone's attention to their stomachs. "Ehehehehehehehe… let's eat?" Naru asked.

Grateful for the change in subject, the girls turned back to the feast on the table that had only just arrived while they were talking. Fubuki in particular heaved a sigh of relief that she hadn't gotten her own crush on Naru exposed, while Sakura still looked rather confused at the idea of a marriage contract.

* * *

><p><em>Within the streets of Konoha…<em>

A small kitten-like creature was bounding through the streets of Konoha, running every which way to evade its pursuers, a group of smugglers and poachers that had raised it since birth. Of course, given the fact that it was on the run for a few weeks now, the running was bound to take its toll on the kitten. Still, it ran, primarily from the captors that wanted to skin it for whatever purpose.

This kitten was a smart one, especially given that it was a purebred of a species that was highly endangered… that of the Uzushio Sea Tiger, to be precise. If needed, it could tell what sort of purposes it would be used for, supposing that the next person (or people) to hold onto it were of an ill-intent.

Soon enough, it made its way to a pile of crates that were easy to climb atop, eventually making it to the top crate—

***WHISH!***

—before it fell through an open window with a startled "mew?" that went unheard for a while.

* * *

><p><em>With the smugglers…<em>

"Pesky little cat thing!" a man with a slender body and long, thin limbs growled out as he scanned his surroundings. "Where did it go!?"

"Who knows, boss?" a second man, this one a wee bit portly, asked rhetorically. "I sure don't, and I'm usually the best tracker of the lot of us."

"Grrrr… how can a little kitten barely out of its baby years get away from us so easily!?" the first man slammed his fist against the side of a wall, causing a few spiderwebs of cracks to form in it. "Find it! I don't care how, but find it! We need that meal ticket!"

"When we do, can I take a bite into it, boss?" a third man asked, hope in his eyes as he asked the question.

"I already said it's our meal ticket, you idiot!" the first man slammed his fist on the head of the third man none too lightly, staggering him slightly. "You make a meal out of it, we don't get a good meal for the next few months!"

"S-Sorry, boss…" the third man apologized while holding his head.

The leader growled ferally and scanned his surroundings, seeing nothing of note aside from building sides, a few trash cans and clotheslines here and there. "We need to hurry. If we loiter around too long, the local shinobi corps are bound to notice us, and we won't be able to get away from them without a fight."

"Understood, boss," the second man nodded. "We'll have to find the kitten as soon as possible."

"If you understand, then what in the nine levels of hell are you standing and waiting around here for?" the leader shot the man a death glare. "Get to work and find us our meal ticket before it gets too far away!"

"S-Sir!"

"I do not like being mocked by animals…" the leader growled, continuing forward. Behind him, the cracked wall he had attacked in his fit earlier suddenly crumbled to the ground, startling a group of people eating at a table inside the building.

"MY WALL!? HOW!?"

* * *

><p><em>With Shiori…<em>

"Hmmhmmhmm… that was an extra nice meal earlier today," Shiori commented to herself, as she made her way to the Uzumaki clan compound. "I wonder… what other meals will we have together as a group?"

As she walked on by the Ninja Academy, she suddenly felt a tingle in her spine, the sort that said that something bad was gonna happen to someone she loved. "Huh?" she voiced aloud. "What could _that_ be?"

Turning around to see if there was anything suspicious in the vicinity, she sighed when she found nothing but kept her guard up as she passed the academy. She trusted her senses, and those senses had never ever gone wrong for her. The last time she didn't, Naruto had ended up falling into a storm drain while playing with her. That hadn't been fun to explain to their mother.

Soon enough, she arrived at her home, unlocking the front door with an Uzumaki-based Fuuinjutsu to keep trespassers out. When she stepped inside—

"Mew?"

—her movement just abruptly stopped as she heard the sound of a kitten coming from her room.

"Mew! Mew!"

"What the… a kitten?" Shiori questioned out loud, before she rushed over to her bedroom, worried for the unknown animal in her room.

She turned the knob and threw open the door, only to stop dead in her tracks and gape at the strange sight before her. The animal in question appeared to have somehow ended up buried in the pile of presents she had left at the foot of her bed that she had been intending to give out, judging by the constant shaking of the presents.

Taking only a moment to process the information, Shiori rushed to where her presents were at, making sure to move the different packages away from the kitten carefully. When she got the presents finally removed from around the kitten…

"Aww… it's so cute!" she squealed upon seeing the kitten. Moving to grab the creature from the ground, she hugged the poor thing, letting it know not to worry around her.

"Shiori, what's going on in there?"

Shiori turned around to see Kushina standing in the doorway with a look of confusion. The kitten in her arms blinked several times as it looked up between the two, similarly confused. "Mew?"

Kushina, upon looking at the kitten, blinked twice. "Is that… an Uzushio Sea Tiger cub?" she asked incredulously. "Where did you find it, Shiori?"

"It was in the pile of presents I was going to give out later…" Shiori gestured at said pile with a look of awe. "I didn't know Santa Claus was real."

With a facepalm, Kushina said, "Of course Santa Claus isn't real, Shiori…" Removing her face from her palm, she asked, "Now, how did an Uzushio Sea Tiger cub find its way into your room?"

The young Uzumaki looked around for a while before she found the answer - the open window just above the present pile. "From there?" she pointed at the window.

"Eh?" Kushina looked in the direction of said window. "Ah, would you look at that? I was wondering why there was a draft coming into the house whenever your door was open, Shiori." Walking over to the window, she closed it, saying, "I know we need to keep the air warm in here, especially considering the weather outside."

Shiori was too busy playing with the cub to really pay attention.

"Shiori, you really like that sort of creature as a pet, don't you?" Kushina asked her daughter. With a shake of her head, she said, "Well, it can't be helped, Shiori. Could you please hand the cub over to me for a little bit?"

"Huh? Oh, okay…" Shiori looked slightly disappointed as she handed the adorable cub to her mother carefully, so as not to startle it.

Upon taking the cub out of her daughter's arms, Kushina looked at it carefully, before finding what she was looking for. "Hmm… do you know of any female names right off?" she asked Shiori.

"It's a girl?" Shiori looked at her mother with stars in her eyes. "It's so cute, isn't it?"

"Yes, this cub's a girl," Kushina answered. "I won't deny the cuteness of this little one, that's for sure… then again, you need to come up with her name."

"Well, she's blue-coloured, so what about Aoi?" Shiori put forward.

Handing the now-named Aoi back to her daughter, Kushina said, "That's a good idea~! I hope you take good care of her."

Aoi mewed and licked Shiori's cheek happily. "A-Aoi! Stop that!" the girl laughed.

"She's doing that because she likes you, Shiori," Kushina said in a sage-like manner. "Still, don't forget what I told you, and take care of Aoi."

"Right!" Shiori exclaimed enthusiastically, holding Aoi at arms length and grinning at her. The cub somehow managed to smile back at her too.

* * *

><p><em>With Hinata…<em>

"I can't believe I ran into _you_ of all people," Hinata said venomously, holding her head with her hands. "What is _with_ my luck?"

"Honestly, what kind of problem do you have with me?" Naru asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the bluenette Hyuuga heiress that she had just run into on the streets.

"Let's see…" Hinata removed a hand from her head and stretched out her fingers one by one. "First of all, you're too much a prankster for your honor to be given integrity without pulling the plug on those pranks, and who's to say that your current form is _not_ a prank? Second, you've been a bane for me ever since you pulled that prank on the Hyuuga clan compound, and specifically targeted my room for a humiliating prank! Finally, and most importantly, you desecrated my shrine!"

"Firstly, I gave up on pranking ever since I assumed this form, and I can swear that it's not a prank," Naru huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Secondly, I never specifically targeted your room… that one was at the Hyuuga in general. Finally, desecrated what shrine?"

Hinata blinked in surprise. "You mean… wait, who pranked my room in particular?" she asked, before shaking her head. "A-Anyway, the shrine that houses the Kami of snow fairies! You knocked it over one day and you never bothered to apologize or make right with said Kami!"

Naru scrunched her face up in an attempt to remember that particular incident, before it hit her like a train. "Wait, you mean that shrine that I knocked over while escaping after a prank was yours?" she exclaimed in horror even as she dropped to her knees in a _dogeza _stance. "I didn't even realize it! I'm sorry!"

Hinata blinked in surprise again. "You… didn't realize it?" she asked. "I… well, you'll still need to apologize to the Kami that resides in the shrine, in any case."

"I will! I'm so sorry… I was in too much of a rush at the time since they were starting to fire jutsu at me…" Naru gushed apologetically, still in the _dogeza _stance and causing the bystanders around them to look at the two curiously.

"I understand…" Hinata said, mere moments before she looked away from Naruto to see a group of 20 men stalking about trying to look inconspicuous and utterly failing at it. "Eh? Who are they?"

"Well, they certainly look suspicious…" Naru looked up from her _dogeza _to stare at the group suspiciously. "They don't look like the good sort."

Even as she had said that, the civilian population of Konoha shied away from the group of men, looking a tad fearful for their lives or something. If they wanted their lives, they'd be away from their line of sight, so it seemed to Naru. None of them even tried to meet the eyes of the shady bunch, especially when they kept glaring fiercely at anyone that looked even remotely in their direction… ah.

"Whatcha lookin' at, girly?" one of the men spat.

"I was looking past you over to the wall of that building over there," Naru quickly made up, pointing at the wall in question.

"Oh, why din' ya say so earlier?" the man looked over at the wall for but a second, before he turned back towards the two girls so fast they could've sworn they heard his neck crack. "Don' sass me, girlie! Wha, ya don like tha look of me face, is it?"

"No, seriously, I was looking at the wall past you," Naru explained in a panic, waving her hands frantically in front of her. "It has nothing to do with your face and how it looks, I swear!"

"Shut it, idiot, you want the ANBU to hear your yapping?" one of the other men snapped at the first one, whacking him upside the head. "We're on a mission here! Girlie, tell us if you've seen a blue kitten thingy running around here and we'll let you go in peace."

Blinking, Naru asked, "I'm sorry… what are you talking about?"

The apparent leader of the group, the second man, stepped forward angrily. "I'm not going to ask you again! Have you seen a blue kitten thingy running around here or not!? Don't make me repeat myself again! What, got too much earwax stuffing up your ear or something that you can't hear me right?"

"N-No, I haven't seen a blue kitten running around!" Naru answered after a moment to contemplate the question. "Maybe if you looked for it somewhere else?"

"If only it were that simple…" the leader growled. "I know… You look like a local, so you help us find it!"

"Eh?" Naru blinked in surprise. "What makes you think I can help you find it?"

"You know the area better than we do, so you know where a kitten thingy would try to hide!" the man snapped back at her.

Hinata stepped up towards the man and interposed herself between him and Naru, snapping at him, "You're being too unreasonable with her, you know that?!"

"Huh? Girlie number 2, I am being perfectly reasonable with her. Either girlie number 1 helps us, or we shut her up… permanently," the man shifted his vest aside just enough to reveal the glint of a dagger hidden beneath.

Hinata, despite her antagonistic relationship with Naru, knew exactly what the man was implying. "You would _dare_ reveal that you plan to murder the child of the Hokage?" Hinata questioned in deadpan.

The man leaned closer to Hinata, looming over her intimidatingly and forcing her to cower a few steps back. "I don't give a shit who she is, girlie number 2!" he roared, sending spittle flying all over the bluenette. "That little blue kitten thingy is our meal ticket, and I'm not letting it out of our reach before I can sell it off!"

"Uh, boss…" one of the men tentatively raised a hand.

"Shut it!" the leader spun around and yelled at the offending man.

"But we can ransom the girlie away for more money…"

"I said shut up!" their leader was quite clearly no longer thinking straight.

"Shutting up, boss."

While the byplay was proving to be annoying, it also proved to be worthwhile, in that Naru and Hinata both realized what they were dealing with. "Okay, you idiots," Naru growled, getting up from her previous position. "You clearly don't belong in Konoha, and, as the daughter of the Hokage, I will exercise my authority to kick you all _out_!"

Hinata, after removing the spittle from her person, also growled. "You people don't deserve any mercy for what you implied and even outright stated you'd do, nor for what you've done already," she got into a Gentle Fist stance as she said that.

"Huh, is that right, girlies?" the leader turned back to the girls with a menacing grin as he shifted his vest aside and pulled out a pair of daggers, showing that one had been hidden on the other side as well. "Well, maybe it's time we taught you to respect those with more power than you puny humans!"

"And what makes you think yo—" Naru got out before she felt a specific… wrongness in the air, permeating from the poachers. "What the… youkai?! How the hell did you get past the sensor array installed around the village?!"

"That would be telling, girlies," the leader wagged a finger at them while clicking his tongue, even as a chorus of metallic sounds indicated that the rest of his group had also drawn weapons of all sorts. "Now, do you want this to hurt, or do you want it to hurt like hell?"

Naru didn't verbally answer, instead opting to channel a good amount of chakra into her fists and legs, before rushing at the leader and punching him in the gut, knocking him into his men and the wall behind them.

"That tickled," the man grinned as he got back up within seconds, his skin cracking slightly.

Naru groaned in annoyance, before she turned her attention to Hinata and asked, "Can you get anything useful out of them with your eyes?"

Hinata blinked a few times before she made a hand sign. "Byakugan!" she declared, causing the veins around her eyes to bulge outwards. "It's odd… they appear to have _something_ flowing through their veins, but it's not chakra, whatever it is."

"Well, they're youkai after all…" Naru sighed, before blinking once. "How do I know they're youkai again?"

"Because I confirmed that we are, girlie number 1," the leader smirked as he appeared behind Naru all of a sudden. "Say goodnight."

Before the man's hand could make contact with Naru, she ducked and swung her feet up and backwards, connecting with something vaguely soft in between the man's legs. The other men winced as one, but the leader simply looked at Naru oddly before punching her clean across the road with a single fist. The redhead managed to flip around in midair to ease her landing, although she still left a furrow in the ground from her attempt to stop her motion. "That should've worked," she muttered, rubbing at the bruise on her stomach.

"Not on me, girlie number 1," the leader grinned ferally. "I'm a mix of an air elemental and a tiger demon! You gotta try harder than that to knock _me_ out!"

"Boss, I thought it was because you cut it off so people couldn't exploit it in a fight…"

"SHUT UP!" and a gust swept the offending grunt off his feet.

Naru took that opportunity to create a few dozen Kage Bunshin, each of them at the ready to throw a couple kunai and shuriken at the youkai in front of them, before she taunted the man. "What, is the eunuch afraid to prove himself to a little girl?" she grinned cheekily, intent on riling the monster in human flesh up.

"Oh, you wanna play like that, little girlie?" the man growled, this time coming out as a very tiger-ish growl instead of a human one. "I never needed that in the first place!" he pounced towards Naru with his daggers outstretched, this time sheathed in what appeared to be blades of wind to extend their reach.

He didn't make it to Naru, especially since Hinata stretched her leg out and tripped the youkai, before rushing to stomp her foot onto his back. "Be aware of your surroundings more, baka!" she growled at the youkai.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" the man chuckled ominously, before launching himself off the ground using all fours, knocking Hinata onto her back while he prepared to come down on top of her with a dagger poised to strike at her jugular.

Naru and her Kage Bunshin threw their kunai and shuriken at the youkai, all hitting what they thought would be his vitals. Unfortunately it all bounced off his skin ineffectively, although they did tear up a few rips in it and exposing animalistic fur inside. Hinata instead managed to recover just in time to roll aside, causing the youkai to bury his blade into the ground on impact, even as it threw up a dust cloud and a gust of wind that knocked the Hyuuga heiress aside.

"What's _wrong_ with this picture?!" Naru yelled, even as she sent the Kage Bunshin on a charge to fight the head youkai. "It seems like nothing we're doing is working!"

"That's because I'm a youkai, you inferior human!" the thing grinned as it stepped out of the dust cloud, showing that its human skin had completely peeled off. Underneath was a humanoid tiger with a disproportionately large upper torso that stretched and popped as previously concealed muscle began to show. Several gusts of wind blew about him, tossing his black-striped white fur about and giving him a very intimidating overall look.

Growling in frustration, Naru saw that her Kage Bunshin were slaughtered rather easily, so she decided to do something about that. She charged in to deliver a roundhouse kick at the youkai's head, jumping up to make up for the height difference.

Grinning, the youkai let the blow land only to blink as it jarred his vision a little when it hit. Naru's follow-up kick was quite easily caught in his hand though. "You pack a bit of a punch…" it growled, staring right at Naru in slight surprise even as she tried to wrestle her leg out of its grip. "But still not enough."

Hinata rushed in to rescue Naru, her posture that of a practitioner of the Gentle Fist, as she started silently intoning, "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" She then jabbed her fingers at the youkai, intent on closing the beastman's version of Chakra Nodes.

"Two Palms!" she jabbed as she uttered. "Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty Two Palms! Eight Trigrams, Sixty Four Palms!"

"Grk!" the youkai stopped for several moments, before Hinata sensed a pulse of… something from inside it that almost instantly cleared the blocked nodes. "That won't work!" it let out a loud roar as it backhanded Hinata towards a nearby wall, the young bluenette only being saved by the timely intervention of one of Naru's Kage Bunshin that caught her before she could hit it.

Even so, Hinata was losing consciousness, and only a matter of time before the youkai decided to end both hers and Naru's lives. Naru weighed her options carefully. On the one hand, she could plead for their lives, and hope beyond hope that they'd actually succeed. On the other hand, she could taunt the youkai into slipping up, and fight to protect Hinata and keep her alive as much as possible.

"You seem to be having some trouble wrapping it around your heads, girlies…" the tiger youkai grinned a very fanged grin. "No matter how strong you are, you can't beat youkai two-on-one with your impotent strength!"

Naru, from her position being held off the ground, growled at the youkai. "You… you f—"

"You fucking _bastard_!" an older male's voice roared from behind the tiger youkai, before said monster was clocked by an alarm clock that broke on impact, the strike enough to let Naru go and to knock the beast down for a few seconds. Upon looking at the male, everyone saw that he wore what looked like a school uniform and glasses, possessing steel-gray eyes and black hair, and holding onto a hilt of some sort.

Letting out a low growl, the tiger youkai pulled itself back to his feet, before casting a sideways glance at the remnants of the clock. "Who the hell uses a clock as a projectile weapon?" it blinked several times before turning back to face the newcomer. "Who the hell are you?"

Instead of answering that question properly, the newcomer asked in an icy tone, "Tell me, _why_ exactly would you pick on someone who can't properly fight back?! What, you get off on kicking puppies or something along those lines?"

"And what if I do?" the youkai grinned as it bared its teeth at the newcomer.

"Right, like you can get off on _anything_, eunuch," Naru quipped at the youkai. Immediately she had to duck under a piece of flying rubble.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" the eunuch yelled.

With an exaggerated sigh, the male flipped a switch on the hilt, revealing it to be a switchblade, even as he closed his eyes and pulled his glasses off. "I see…" he said, mere moments before he snapped his eyes open, revealing shining blue eyes instead of steel-gray. "I can see your death."

"You think I'm scared of some glowy eye trick!?" the youkai grinned ferally as he disappeared and reappeared behind Naru, hoisting her up despite her best effort to break free. "Besides, I don't think I need to worry about losing my meal ticket if I just get another one! Girlie, you're the Hokage's daughter, right? Then you'll fetch a pretty ryo!"

The young man shook his head, before intoning, "Sensō." With inhuman speed, the young man appeared behind the youkai, saying when he stopped, "Come and get me… if you dare."

"I dare," the youkai sneered, before looking at his subordinates and bellowing, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR, YOU IMBECILES!?"

"YES BOSS!" came a chorus of replies as each of the other men began shedding their skins, some quite literally. Once the icky process was over, a large assortment of various youkai stood in front of the newcomer with the switchblade, ranging from snake youkai to… was that a bright red octopus?

The young man blinked at the last one, before he intoned, "Sensō." Appearing behind the group of youkai, he intoned, "Sensa!" With that, he slashed at the octopus youkai with his switchblade 17 blindingly fast times, before he punted the body and forced the pieces of the monster to fall to the ground.

"Aaaah! Tako just got turned into sashimi!" one of the goons, an ox youkai yelled, brandishing a large battleaxe at the man. "Get him!"

Before the other goons could even remotely charge at the young man, the ox youkai was stabbed on his left arm by the young man, causing the beast to disintegrate. Taking his switchblade into a swinging arc, he sliced twelve more of their number as if he were using a sword, his blade actually cutting in deeper than one would expect of a switchblade. The only thing the slices had in common were that they zig-zagged practically all over the place on their bodies before they were cleanly separated with the cuts between the pieces of their bodies.

"No switchblade can cut like that! What is he!?" a shark youkai gasped out loud even as he backed off fearfully from the young man.

"Just an inferior human," the young man answered, even as he beheaded the shark youkai. "One who was gifted with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, so that I can hunt beings like you down better."

"What the heck are those eyes?" one of the remaining three, an amorphous blob of slime burbled even as it turned around and started to run… slide, whatever it was slimes did in the opposite direction. "I don't want any part of this anymore!"

"Sensō," the young man intoned, even as he caught up with the slime and stabbed it where only he could see the point of death. Upon being stabbed, the slime disintegrated, before the young man turned to face the other two goons.

"How did he kill Tsurutsuru? He's supposed to be impervious to physical weapons!" one of them asked out loud, moments before he himself was cut down.

"My eyes see the ways anything and anyone can die," the young man answered post-mortem. Turning to the last remaining goon, he intoned, "Sensō." With that, he sped towards the goon and sliced at the being's abdomen, destroying it with the abdomen.

"Tch…" the leader growled, before leaping off towards the wall in a hurry. "If I can just get outside Konoha…" it whispered, no longer being able to stomach the thought of fighting the newcomer.

Before it could even make it past fifteen meters away from where it was, however, the young man seemingly appeared right in front of him. "Going somewhere, _yarou_?"

"!" the tiger youkai leapt several feet backwards in shock, ignoring Naru's attempts to damage it with punches and kicks. "You're no ordinary human!"

Wagging a finger in the air, the young man tsked a few times, before stepping forward. "Now, what gave you the impression that other humans can't pull the same stunts _I_ can?" he asked.

"So what now, are you going to kill me? If you even move, I'll drag this girl to hell with me!" the leader held up the girl in its paws, dragging a dagger across her throat just enough to draw blood and causing Naru to stop moving for fear of hurting herself even more.

The young man blinked a few times, before he facepalmed. "Really?" he asked out loud. "_Really_? You'd resort to taking a hostage at a time like this? Especially when the battle is two to one in _our_ favor?"

"Two to one!?" the youkai gasped out loud, even as it involuntarily turned its gaze away to search for the other assailant.

Before too much time had passed, a samurai-looking man with long blue hair and purplish clothes materialized from behind the tiger youkai, a 150 centimeter long katana in hand. "The other one would be me," he said, before he moved his blade into a stance. "Hiken…" he started intoning. "Tsubame Gaeshi!" As he said that, the samurai slashed one time, before three slash marks hit the monster… at the exact same time.

Once at the dagger-holding arm, slicing it clean off…

…once at its left leg, forcing the youkai to the ground…

…and once in the creature's torso (and only in the creature's torso with that slash).

"Grrk…" the youkai groaned out loud, as it released Naru, dropping her to the ground none too gently as it collapsed face-first. "Damn… you…"

Naru took the opportunity to get out from underneath the youkai, looking around for Hinata, before she found the younger girl. "Hinata-chan!" she ran towards the Hyuuga heiress, even as the two men moved on their way to—

A slashing sound halted the men's movements, forcing them to turn and look at what happened.

—Naru almost immediately fell to the ground, blood gushing out of her back.

"Heheh… I said it didn't I?" the youkai grinned ferally, looking up slightly and revealing a sheath of wind around its claws from which it had unleashed what appeared to be a ranged wind claw technique. "If I die… I'm dragging her to hell with me!"

Before it could say anything else, the samurai sliced the youkai's head off, ending its life. "We have to get these two medical treatment, Tohno," he said to his companion.

Putting his glasses back on and closing his switchblade, Tohno Shiki said, "I'm aware of that, Sasaki… however, we can't just take them to our base of operations. That would draw about too many questions that we're incapable of answering." Turning his attention to the rest of the village, he added, "Besides, I don't think we're able to leave this alleyway, what with the barrier blocking the way out."

At that moment, there was a loud cracking sound as the translucent dome around the area shattered into pieces of what appeared to be glass, that dissipated mere moments later. As it went down, several shinobi clad in black made their appearance, landing all around them in an encirclement, only for them to look up and around in confusion when they realized the youkai had already been dealt with.

"Ah, good, people who know the area better than we do," Shiki spoke up on seeing the ANBU. "If you don't mind, could you please take these two girls to the hospital for us? We don't know this area as well as we should, so…"

"A-Alright…" one of the ANBU nodded hesitantly as he stepped forward together with two of his compatriots. With a quick nod to them, they picked up the two unconscious girls and vanished in a shunshin. That done, he turned towards the two foreigners. "That being said, we'd like you to come to our leader's office. This incident has raised too many questions that need to be answered."

Blinking, Shiki answered, "Um… unfortunately, we were here for a business trip that just concluded, so—"

"Alright, we'll head over with you," Sasaki Kojiro said as an interruption.

"—we have to- wait, hold on, _what_?!"

"Thank you for your cooperation," the ANBU bowed. "We are very thankful to you for saving our leader's daughter just now, even if it seems she's in a critical situation…"

"You are most welcome," Kojiro answered with a bow of his own. "We'll follow you to your leader's office, though don't expect us to take a reward for doing the right thing."

"Very well," the ANBU nodded. "Now, grab on to me and I'll transport you there."

Before Kojiro could grab onto the ANBU, he remembered that he had to sheathe his katana, so he set about to do that. As soon as the blade clicked into place, he grabbed onto Shiki and the ANBU, allowing the ninja to shunshin them both over to the Hokage's office.

* * *

><p><em>In the Konoha Ninja Hospital at nighttime (December 24th)…<em>

Within the Konoha Ninja Hospital's ICU, Naru and Hinata were recovering from an intensive amount of medical procedures that they were unconscious for, even as they were guarded by a group of ANBU hand selected by Kushina. Normally, the two of them would have been out of the hospital by now, but the circumstances regarding their trip there made it so that they couldn't leave just yet, mostly due to how the injuries were inflicted.

The problem the doctors were facing was the fact that the energy that the youkai were using had somehow managed to block out any and all healing ninjutsu attempts used by them, so the best they could do was use traditional medicine as described by non-ninja doctors. The treatment was slow-going, for the most part, and it had been at least a full day since the two of them had begun getting treated.

Now, the doctors were on break, and nobody would be able to slip past the ANBU guarding the room from outside—

Suddenly, a bright flash of colorful light appeared in the room, though it was ignored by the ANBU for one reason or another. When the light died down, an old man with blood-red eyes and an aristocratic look appeared, walking towards Naru's bed.

"My, my… to think that, amongst all your alternates, you were born a boy and made a girl of your own choice," the old man said with dry mirth upon reaching Naru. "Normally, I would be seen as a rather bored individual, but that cannot be further from the truth. The truth is, I just happen to be contradictory most of the time, only fighting my rival because he pissed me off for a reason I can hardly remember. I also happen to be rather amoral, even amongst the people of the Clocktower, going so far as to laugh at both evildoers and do gooders."

Taking time to remove an item from his pouch, he blinked upon bringing it up to his face. "Emerald? What were _you_ doing in my pouch?" he asked, more than a little perturbed.

"Ummm, ahah! Can I just say I was a little on the bored side?" the object turned out to be a ring around a five-pointed star, looking like it had come off the top of some childish magical staff. It also had wings for whatever odd reason, as the man released it and it started floating in the air on its own power.

With a resigned sigh, the man shook his head. "To think, most people think it's _me_ who's bored whenever things go wrong…" he said. "What are you thinking of, Emerald?"

"Just wanting to see the sights?" Emerald somehow scratched what passed for the back of its head with a wing. "I mean… it would be nice to see what's outside this computer screen too. Take me there sometime, Zel-Zel!"

"Emerald, I have absolutely _no_ idea what you're talking about!" the old man, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, said, in a tone that meant 'Not even _I_ can pull off what you just did'. "Besides which, isn't there a girl back home you've been meaning to turn into a Mahou Shoujo?"

"Eh, she can wait! Can I turn this one first?" Emerald turned towards the unconscious redhead lying on the hospital bed.

"What?! Absolutely _not_!" Zelretch countered. "You know as well as I do that Kaleidosticks like yourself work better with girls instead of boys!"

"Pooh," Emerald muttered, even while floating over to the bluenette in the other bed. "What about her?"

Zelretch took a moment to think it over. "No, actually," he answered. "I feel like there's something preventing her from achieving her true potential, but it won't take making her a Magical Girl to fix it, whatever it is."

Emerald was silent for several moments before it looked up at Zelretch. "Can I stay here for a bit anyway? I'll turn into a legendary weapon and troll them with my sentience! Heehee!"

Zelretch blinked a few dozen times. "Okay, why would you want to stay here, Emerald?" he asked the Mystic Code. Before he could get an answer, though, he sighed with a shake of his head. "Very well, you can stay here, but _be careful_ in this world."

"Yaaay!" Emerald did several happy loops around the old man's head before floating in close to his cheek and making a kissing sound. "You're the best, Zel-Zel!"

Ignoring the Kaleidostick, Zelretch pulled out what he was looking for from his pouch, which turned out to be a bottle of liquid. "Alright, this should help restore their bodies to how they're supposed to be," he said more to himself. Taking care to properly guide half the bottle into the redhead's mouth and guide it down her throat, he proceeded to do the same with the other half of the bottle for the bluenette, before he put the bottle back into his pouch. "Anfang!" he uttered as soon as he moved back to his original starting point.

Meanwhile, after moving to the side table between the two sleeping girls, Emerald chuckled ominously as it flashed bright white for a moment, its silhouette extending a long pole while what had been its body turned into a large cylinder. After a while, the flash dissipated and revealed that it had turned into a… childish looking pico-pico hammer with small wings on its side.

As the bright flash died down, two minor glows surrounded the patients, restoring them both to excellent health… and, in the red-head's case, turning into a boy with bright blonde hair. Of course…

"Hmm… I suppose that the effects of the medicine will show themselves soon enough," Zelretch mused to himself, even as he prepared to leave. "Emerald, please be good, alright?"

"Of course!" the transformed Mystic Code replied with a salute from the small wings on its side.

"Thank goodness…" Zelretch said as he left in a rainbow of light.

* * *

><p><em>Within Naruto's mindscape…<em>

A woman with fox features sat on a chair inside her host's mind, reading a book, when she felt something strange happening around her.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" she asked no one in particular as she snapped her fingers, making a bookmark appear where she had stopped as she closed the book and tossed it aside nonchalantly. The book dissolved into sparkly dust in mid air that she quickly waved aside to get a better view of what was going on around her.

When she stood up, she saw that a dashboard had been put on the wall in front of her. Walking over to the dashboard, she saw a pair of gauges and blinked twice.

"Interesting…" she mused, seeing the labels beneath the gauges. "I suppose that means that my dear host has finally unlocked the ability to use my powers…"

Taking a moment to scan the dashboard, she saw a keyboard, which prompted her to take a look at what it was attached to. What she saw was a computer screen, something that she still had trouble wrapping her head around (how in the world did they get people that small to fit in them?), even though she was supposed to be used to it by now. When she saw the contents of the screen…

"Double interesting," she grinned happily. "Maybe this'll at least give me something to do down here - I'm already running out of books, and my dear host isn't of the more academically-inclined sort."

With that, she started typing and… well, she mangled her words on the screen at least a few dozen tries. And when she tried to fling the keyboard across the room, it disappeared in mid-air and reappeared in front of her again… Breaking it in half over her knee also caused it to reform in the exact same way.

"Accursed piece of human technology…" she fumed, glaring at the keyboard as if her very gaze would set it alight.

Suddenly, she found a book in front of her field of vision, titled "How to Type at a Typewriter or Computer for Dummies".

A few moments of silence ensued as the woman stared at the book, studying the title closely. Another few moments later, a tick mark appeared on her forehead. "Are you mocking me!?" the woman shrieked as she hurled it across the room only for it to reappear in front of her again, this time dancing in mid-air. "Grrr…"

After a few infuriating minutes of watching the book dance in mid-air, she finally grabbed it and opened it up, looking the instructions over a few times to see what she had done wrong.

"Well, that's a lot of help," she muttered grudgingly, tossing the book aside again. This time, it didn't reappear in front of her.

After a little over a minute, she finally started typing her idea of training instructions for her host, working as hard as she could to keep the spelling errors down to an absolute minimum of zilch. When she finished her end of things, she reviewed the training regime list, just to make sure she could see what it was her host would be doing.

_0600: Wake up_

_0605: Shower and get dressed_

_0615: Eat breakfast_

_0630: Head for school_

_1400: Head for library after school to pick up/drop off essential reading materials_

_1430: Use Kage Bunshin to simultaneously read and train_

_1700: Start meditation exercises to learn how to use Zeon_

_1900: Head home to cook own dinner and next two meals_

_2200: Go to bed_

_Rinse and repeat on school days_

"Now, it should be interesting to see what my dear host does now…" the woman smirked, even as she leaned backwards and stretched her arms. "Ugh, being stuck in here is making me go really out of shape…" she muttered, hearing the sound of her joints cracking.

* * *

><p><em>Within Hinata's mindscape…<em>

A ghostly presence flitted about inside Hinata's mind, bringing snow with her everywhere inside the very core of Hinata's being. The ghost looked to be wearing an ice-blue kimono, with ice-blue hair and amethyst eyes, showing some difference between her and Hinata. As the ghost wandered, she came across a building that seemed to have someone in it.

_'__Odd… this is the first I've seen such a building in this desolate mindscape,'_ the ghost thought, puzzled by the sight. _'Perhaps I should take a look and see what's going on… yes, that would be best.'_

With that in mind, the ghost brought its wintry presence over to the house and knocked on the door. A meek 'Yes?' was the reply from the other side of the door.

"Am I allowed to come in?" the ghost asked.

"Ano… who _are_ you?" the owner of the voice, a young girl, asked back. "I'm sorry, but I was taught not to open the door for strangers, not unless they identify themselves as friendly."

The ghost blinked in surprise. "Huh… that's a good policy, young one," she answered. "My name is Byaku Yuki, the patron Kami of snow fairies, young one."

The door opened almost immediately for the ghost. "Yuki-dono?" the young girl asked. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, young one, it really is me," Yuki answered with a nod. "Am I allowed to come in now?"

"Y-Yes, of course!" the young girl said. She turned her body to allow Yuki entrance, saying, "Come in."

"Thank you," Yuki said with a nod, before entering the house and closing the door behind her. Upon noticing the pictures on the wall, she asked, "Are these pictures of you on the outside?"

"Hmm?" the young girl blinked as she looked at the pictures. "Oh, yes, they are. I guess I really grew up too fast, huh?"

"Of course not," Yuki answered rather honestly. "If I were in your shoes, I'd be happy that I was growing up that well."

Hinata blushed slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, knowing exactly what the ghost was talking about. "A-Anyway, umm, what are you doing here, Yuki-dono?" she hurriedly attempted to change the subject.

"I've always been here, in one form or another," Yuki answered with a smile. "After all, I wish to see how my eldest descendant of your generation will truly grow up, little snow fairy."

Hinata paused for a moment, her eyes slightly widened at the ghost's last few words. "I-I'm your descendant!?" she gaped.

"Yes, little snow fairy," Yuki said with a sad smile. "I would've been around for you and your other ancestors on your mother's side, but circumstances kept me from doing so, mostly because of how the men of your family feared that they, and you by extension, would leave the Hyuuga clan."

Hinata shuffled slightly, even as she cast a small glance at the snow that was starting to fall outside the house. "So… what now?" she asked. "Are you going to stay?"

"Yes," Yuki said, "but only if you want me to." Before Hinata could say anything to that, Yuki raised a hand to cut her off. "There's a nasty curse in your blood, one that was put on there by the man that sired my child that led to your birth… one that said you couldn't even accept the snow fairy side of you unless I was around to undo the curse." Lowering her hand, she added, "This curse would have made you completely human if it weren't for the fact that it had been weakening all this time… and you're the first female in my line to recover the heritage lost to your ancestors."

"That's… that's…" Hinata was rendered speechless by the revelation as she attempted to formulate a proper sentence. In the end, she managed to recompose herself enough to say, "So you mean that now the curse is gone… I'm going to become a snow fairy too?"

"The curse is almost gone, Hinata," Yuki answered. "To fully remove it, you'll need to tell me that I can stay, although…" Yuki paused for a bit. "It wouldn't do to remove your humanity at all. A human is a special person in that they can be anything they desire, though they mustn't forsake their humanity in the process, especially with the risks of where you'll end up in the future."

"So… what should I do now?" Hinata asked in an uncertain tone.

"Well…" Yuki said with a sigh. "You can either stay a regular Hyuuga female, what with the inbreeding that entails, _or_ you can strengthen your snow fairy blood, and potentially have a better shot at a great love life, if your current interest is anything to go by."

Hinata reddened slightly, but the choice was already clear to her. "O-Of course I'll take the second option!" she declared.

With a proud smile, Yuki walked up to Hinata and gave her a hug. "That's my girl," she said. "Now…" she released Hinata and knelt down to her level. "Welcome to your new life." With that, she frenched Hinata, catching the younger girl by surprise.

A cold gust of wind filled the room for a moment, which was odd considering all the doors and windows were closed. As the ghost floated backwards away from Hinata, the young girl began to emit a soft, blueish-white glow. A large snowflake pattern formed beneath her feet, spreading out to cover most of the floor and began to blast snow out, whipping Hinata's hair around from the strong winds.

Hinata's hair slowly started to become coated in snow particles from the snowflake rune on the ground, turning it ice blue instead of its former dark blue. It also became a bit spikier, resembling icicles as it fell in several layers until the small of her back. She even felt herself growing several inches taller, and even slightly… wider. She blinked several times, revealing that her Byakugan had gained a slight blueish radiance and let out a small squeak as she dropped to her knees and covered her chest with her arms.

Where Hinata's pre-change body had definitely been that of a little girl, albeit with some early… development, her new body had given her an appearance of about two or three years older, with a much larger bust and wider hips than she was used to. She gingerly cupped her chest, estimating that she was perhaps around a D-cup now… and her skin also felt a lot colder to the touch than usual. Her hair was even leaving behind a fine trail of snow as she moved. Abruptly, a white and blue yukata faded into existence covering her, although it was rather… tight on her and left the neck open enough to show quite a bit of cleavage.

"Yu-Yu-Yuki-dono! People are definitely going to notice the difference!" Hinata wailed, gesturing down at her body.

"That's a bad thing… why?" Yuki asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Hinata ducked her head in embarrassment. "They're going to start staring at me… and some people might not recognize me…" she whimpered.

"Hmm…" Yuki put a hand to her chin. "That's going to be a problem, especially since people will need to know you're still the same inside, not outside."

Hinata tugged at the neck of her yukata nervously, trying to close it tighter over her chest as she quietly waited for an answer from her ancestor. "I-I need to make sure… this isn't a dream, is it?" she asked tentatively.

"It is not a dream, Hinata," Yuki replied. "If you really are concerned…" Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "A-HA! I know _just_ what to do, dear Hinata!"

"Wh-What?" Hinata looked up with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Well, you'll still have the same chakra as you did as a normal human," Yuki explained. "Just ask them to check for your chakra pattern. It's really different from your other energies, but they're more used to your chakra, so they'll be able to find it easily."

Hinata slumped. "But that doesn't do anything about my appearance!" she pointed at her chest.

"Regrettably, you've always had the genetics for a… sexy woman," Yuki admitted. "Being a snow fairy has that as part of the course, so to speak… however, only a select few people will know you are so sexy right off… especially if you use a Henge to cover your body correctly."

Hinata froze, a thin sheet of ice covering her for a moment before it shattered and she began banging her head against the wall. "Why didn't I think of the Henge!?" she groaned. "But I don't know one strong enough to fool the Byakugan…"

"You don't have to worry about that," Yuki answered even as she gently laid a hand on her descendant's shoulder to stop her from injuring herself. "All snow fairies can perform the basic Henge and make it strong enough to fool the Byakugan and other such eyes, all without modifying the use of chakra and the hand seals… though it doesn't show in your mind."

Hinata had her hands in the sign necessary to use the Henge before her ancestor was done. With a slight blush, she lowered her hands. "That's a relief…" she sighed, noting that even her breath came out in a cold mist as well.

"Indeed, it is," Yuki nodded in agreement. She then looked at a clock. "Oh! Isn't it about time for you to wake up?"

"It is?" Hinata turned to look at the clock as well, just in time as her body began to fade away. With a small start, she turned back to her ancestor. "Will I be able to continue talking to you like this?" she hurriedly asked.

"Of course," Yuki answered, nodding again. "Just remember to focus on meeting me when you wish to talk."

"Right!" Hinata exclaimed happily, even as her body was almost completely gone. "I'll see you again, Yuki-dono!"

"I'm sure you will…" Yuki said. "After all, you need to learn from your elders, right?"

"Yea…" Hinata's final word faded out before she could finish it, but Yuki had heard enough of it. With a smile, the ghost looked around the house that represented her descendant's mindscape and selected a book off one of the shelves to read and pass the time while she waited for the next visit.

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: *looks at calendar* …<strong>

***looks at opening note* Dammit! So much for having it ready in time for Christmas. Now we have to ****_really_**** hurry up with the next chapter.**

**…****in any case, here's Astral.**

* * *

><p><strong>AstralXYZ: Yeah, we were really hoping to get this out before Christmas, but it seems that both of us were rather busy during the season. I'm actually entering my 3rd semester and last semester for my 2nd year of studies - after this one is done, I'll have another year to go. From my first week alone though, it seems to be rather busy. I'll try to keep up with updating as much as possible, but do be warned we might be a little slower from here on out. That being said, this chapter is exceptionally long, so that might be another reason it felt so slow going...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Also, as an FYI, snow fairies are what Hinata and Yuki call what we know as Yuki Onna, just so you don't ask either of us what a snow fairy is.<strong>

**Anyway… any thoughts? Questions? Please leave them for us to answer.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Xamusel: Well… it's currently 0910 on 1/9/2015. I hope that this chapter can be released faster than the last one.**

**Also, please give our new collaborator a warm welcome, namely for the author DragonKnightRyu! Here's hoping that we can stick with this fic together.**

**DKR: (Pulls down eyelid and blows a raspberry) Don't forget I have a job you know.**

**Xamusel: I won't forget that.**

**Now… we (Astral, Ryu, and I) have a plan that we need to follow. Hopefully you, the readers, will be willing to put up with us as we get everything ready for said plan.**

**In other news… this chapter shows the reason for the rating. Think what sort of citrusy fruit is common in fanfics… and you're right.**

**Well… let's have a good Valentine's Day episode. Shall we begin?**

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Book 0<em>**

**_Prologue Arc_**

**_Chapter 5_**

**_Valentine's Day Bash_**

* * *

><p><em>Hokage's Office, February 7th…<em>

"Kushi-chan, you sure are bringing in a lot of foreign festivals, ufufufu~" the silver-haired Yukikaze matriarch giggled as she stepped into the office.

Blinking, Kushina looked up from her paperwork and asked, "What brought this on, Secchin?"

"This new one you just introduced of course!" Setsuna walked over to the desk, leaning on it and taking care not to upset the mountains of paperwork on it. "Valentine's Day. The day we girls give a little chocolatey surprise to the men in our lives."

Kushina took a moment to register the answer in her head. "Oh… OH!" she exclaimed the last part. "Crap! I completely forgot that I greenlit that holiday!"

The silverette blinked for a few moments before a drop of cold sweat made its way down the back of her head. "How could you forget about it, Kushi-chan?" she groaned, smacking her forehead.

"I hate to break it to you, Secchin, but I don't _have_ a reason for celebrating the holiday any longer…" Kushina said. "I think I wasn't even paying attention to what I was signing on at the time."

At that, Setsuna performed a perfect face fault, the resulting tremor upsetting the mountain of paperwork on Kushina's desk, much to her horror. She quickly got back up and slammed her hands on the Hokage's desk, yelling, "You should be paying attention to what you're signing, Kushi-chan! Who knows what kind of other stuff people could've managed to sneak in if you're that careless with your paperwork?"

Kushina blinked for a few seconds, before she double-checked all the paperwork that she had signed, making sure that she hadn't signed anything that would be considered unlawful beforehand. After making sure none of it was stuff that could be snuck in if she was careless, she turned to face Setsuna and said, "Thanks for helping me out of that pickle."

"You need to use your Kage Bunshin more…" Setsuna sighed, patting her friend on the back softly. "I could probably help out a bit myself when I'm not busy with the clan's own paperwork though."

Kushina looked up at Setsuna and said, "Thanks, Secchin… you're the best."

"It might be a good idea to get Miko-chan and Hito-chan to help too, if you're really feeling swamped by the work and need a second, third and fourth opinion," Setsuna mused, even as she pulled up a chair to the desk and began helping to sort out all the paperwork she had toppled over during her earlier face fault.

"True…" Kushina answered. "Perhaps I should call for them?"

"Kushi-chan!" Mikoto called out singsongly as she strode into the office along with Hitomi. "How ya doing?"

Blinking, Kushina looked in their general direction and said, "Spoke too soon, apparently. Well, the gang's all here again."

Hitomi tilted her head a bit as she looked at Kushina in confusion. "What's that?" she asked. "Were you needing us?"

"Yes, I was," Kushina admitted. "Apparently, I need a few extra opinions on the paperwork, which sucks a lot."

"Urgh," Mikoto groaned as she looked down at the pile of papers. "Can I burn them?"

Kushina rolled her eyes, before saying, "I wish that we could have them burnt… would really remove so much stress from us all." Returning her eyes to normal, she said, "No, you can't burn them, not at this stage."

"Damn," Mikoto pouted briefly as Hitomi stepped forward and quickly sorted the papers into separate stacks.

"Shinobi Council Requests," she informed, passing a stack to Kushina. "Civilian Mission Requests," this one was passed to Setsuna. "Mission Requests from outside Konoha," went to Mikoto. "And finally Diplomatic Missives and Trade Requests for me!"

"Thank you, Hito-chan!" Kushina declared, even as she started to fill in her part of the paperwork. "You're a life saver!"

Hitomi giggled slightly. "Isn't it easier to _organize _than to haphazardly strew things about, Kushi-chan?" she questioned pointedly, eyeing the desk.

Kushina sighed heavily at that. "I suppose it is," she answered, "though I'm stuck in regards to who gives me the paperwork to begin with. Usually it's organized, but there's always the weird things that aren't, anyway… or, like just a bit ago, what happens when a certain _someone_ face faults in the office."

Setsuna let out a nervous chuckle in response.

Hitomi sniffed slightly in response. "Perhaps you should get a better secretary then," she informed. "One who can handle the job."

Kushina blinked in surprise. "Speaking of which…" she started. "Where _is_ my secretary?"

The four women shared looks of confusion with each other. "Was… was a secretary even assigned?" Mikoto asked slowly.

"Yes, there was one," Kushina answered. "However… where could she be?"

"Wait… wasn't she the one who had the nervous break down when you asked her to babysit Naruto and Shiori when he was a baby with Kagami and Hanami?" Mikoto asked.

"I don't believe that was the same woman, but she might have been," Kushina answered with a shrug. "Think she's the one?"

"I think she was..." Hitomi mused. "I think she's still in the mental ward at the hospital from that…"

Kushina blinked at that. "Wait… I recall having a secretary earlier, especially since around the time Naruto became Naru," she admitted.

"I remember him!" Mikoto announced. "He said 'Fuck this, I did not sign up for the breaking of the Rules of Causality and Gender, I quit.'"

Kushina blinked again. "Oh… right. I thought that was a woman I hired before that point," she admitted.

"I think we need to do a more rigorous screening process for your secretary," Hitomi said slowly with a sweatdrop dropping down the back of her head. "Maybe someone from ANBU?"

Kushina looked at Hitomi and nodded. "Well, if nothing else, I could hire Old Man Sarutobi for the position," she said. "Give him something to do with his time."

"And he does know what's bullshit and what isn't," Mikoto informed, flicking a sheet of paper into the air before lighting it aflame. "A request to steal the Daimyo's underwear."

Blinking, Kushina asked, "For real? Who wants the Daimyo's underwear?"

"The Daimyo of Tea Country," Mikoto informed. "Apparently it's some sort of revenge scheme."

Kushina looked at Mikoto incredulously. "Really? Please tell me you're joking…"

"Wish I was," Mikoto informed sadly. "Now, it would be different if it was meant as a prank, I'd volunteer then."

Kushina blinked a couple times. "Wait a minute… did I hear that right? You'd volunteer for something you explicitly turned your remaining younger child into a girl for going to continue?"

Mikoto smirked in response. "How often could one say that they were responsible for pranking a World Leader?" she countered.

Kushina opened her mouth to counter, only to come up empty. "I… have no way to counter that statement, actually," she finally said. Turning to Setsuna, she asked, "Secchin? You have any ideas?"

"Er…" Setsuna paused to think for a while before replying, "While the prank is interesting… I wouldn't want to do anything to piss off a potential client."

With a nod, Kushina turned to Mikoto and said, "I'm going to agree with Secchin on this one."

Mikoto eyed the mission request that had been turned to ash. "Umm…"

"Oh, right, it was a revenge scheme…" Kushina facepalmed. "Well, so much for _that_ one, then."

"You could do it to one of the Hyuuga elders though… God knows they need those sticks up their asses removed somehow," Hitomi said thoughtfully.

Mikoto actually seemed to consider it. "Hmm…" she hummed out thoughtfully before developing a downright _evil _smile. "Oh… I have a good one…"

Kushina looked at the Uchiha matriarch and asked, "Well? What idea do you have in mind, Miko-chan?"

"How about we not only steal them, but publically burn them and buy out all underwear in Konoha save for our… 'special night' type thongs," Mikoto informed with an evil cackle. "And put time delayed transparency seals on their clothing!"

Kushina blinked in surprise. "Well… who knew that would come from your mind?" she asked. "I'm in love with the idea!"

Mikoto let out another evil cackle. "I'll show my prankster child how pranks are _really _done, or I'm not the Terror Princess of the Uchiha Clan!"

Letting out a faux gasp of surprise, Kushina said, "Oh, no! The Terror Princess is getting a successor!"

Almost as soon as those words were uttered, all four friends laughed as one, the hilarity of the situation catching up to them.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day, Yukikaze clan compound…<em>

"We're home!" Kagami loudly announced as the three silver-haired Yukikaze sisters stepped into the main building of the compound, into a very traditionally-decorated foyer, just flashy enough to show that they were a noble clan, but not too expensive-looking so as not to alienate any visitors.

"Oh, you're back! How was class today?" their father, Akihiro greeted them, stepping into view from the door.

"Otou-san!" Hanami cried out happily, a wide smile stretched across her face. She had been acting much more happier since Naruto had returned to his male form, for obvious reasons.

"The usual, classes seem to have been quite relaxed lately," Fubuki sighed, gently laying her shoes aside on the rack as the girls stepped onto the wooden floor. "I wonder what's been going on? Some of the other female instructors at the Academy have been acting weird lately too."

A short moment of contemplation later, Akihiro snapped his fingers. "I remember your oka-san mentioning something about a new festival or something that Kushina-san recently approved… Maybe it has something to do with that?"

At that moment, another head of silver hair appeared in the entryway as a familiar voice called out, "I'm home!"

"Ah, welcome back, Setsu-koi!" Akihiro waved at his wife. "How was your usual meetup?"

"We decided to help Kushi-chan out with her paperwork issues on a more regular basis," Setsuna sighed, wiping her brow. "No matter how many times I see Mt. Paperwork on her desk, it never ceases to amaze me…"

"And I thought the Yukikaze clan had it bad too," the Yukikaze patriarch scratched the back of his head. Just mere moments ago he had walked away from a stack of finished paperwork several inches thick. And even with that amount he was feeling more than a little sick of it.

"Did you know that she actually approved Valentine's Day without really studying the proposal?" Setsuna muttered in exasperation. "Oh well, at least it gives us a reason to push our girls to finish their chocolate early…"

"Wait, that means…" Hanami's eyes widened. A few seconds later, a cloud of dust replaced her, a smaller trail leading towards the kitchen detailing her route.

"It seems Hanami doesn't need any pushing…" Akihiro smirked knowingly, even as he turned his gaze towards the remaining two sisters, who were blushing as they put two and two together and realized exactly why the other people at the Academy had been acting weirdly.

"Why didn't I think about it?" Fubuki smacked her forehead as she, too, ran off following in her elder sister's footsteps.

Setsuna directed a raised eyebrow at the sole remaining girl in the foyer, the unspoken language clear in her encouraging gaze.

"Um… uh…" Kagami shifted slightly uncomfortably at the stare. "I su-suppose I better get going too…" she ran after her siblings at a slightly more sedate pace. She knew she was the weakest at cooking among her sisters, but she was definitely going to do her very best to make something for the blonde in their lives!

"Ah… their youth is-" Akihiro found himself cut off by an icy glare from his wife.

"Finish that sentence about youth and I'm replacing your wardrobe with green spandex jumpsuits," Setsuna folded her arms over her chest threateningly.

"ANYTHING BUT THAT!" the Yukikaze patriarch cried out, knowing full well who she was referring to and not wanting to be seen as having anything to do with that certain eccentric jonin.

* * *

><p><em>Haruno residence…<em>

Sakura took the chocolate she was making out of the oven in her family's kitchen, preparing to put it into the fridge as soon as she could to cool it off into a heart shape, when she paused in mid-motion. Ever since the events leading up to Christmas Day, she had been getting strange headaches, like right now. These headaches were getting more and more frequent, it seemed, and they always interfered with her abilities in life.

Shaking her head slightly, she picked up the jar of Red Velvet frosting and opened it before using a knife to spread an Uzumaki spiral in the center of the chocolate. After completing the spread, she turned her attention to the rest of the chocolate she had made, looking at the friendship chocolate she made for the other girls that hung out with Naruto, before she put the designs of their families on them.

She then carefully used a spatula to lift the chocolates off the pan and onto a plate that she then placed in the fridge to cool. "There, that wasn't so hard," she announced proudly to herself.

"What wasn't so hard?" a female voice asked from at the door.

"K… Kaa-san!" Sakura squeaked in surprise, a flush building up on her face. "Uh… nothing, don't worry about it!"

"Oh?" Haruno Mebuki asked curiously. "Are you sure it's nothing?"

Sakura nodded her head rapidly. "Nothing at all!" she confirmed desperately.

"Then why do I see the cooking supplies for making chocolate?" Mebuki asked. "Are you interested in someone this early?"

"NO!" Sakura protested instantly. "It's… it's just friendship chocolates!"

Mebuki chuckled at that, causing Sakura to look at her. "My daughter, please, don't lie about this," Mebuki said. "It won't do you any good to lie at all."

"I'm not lying!" she protested again, conveniently shoving the fact that Naruto's chocolate was the only one heart shaped to the back of her mind. "Why would I lie?"

"Well… maybe because of embarrassment?" Mebuki asked, before shaking her head. "After all, it could be you're preparing lover's chocolate for Uzumaki Naruto…"

Sakura's face instantly went as red as a tomato. "NO!" she screamed out in a panic. "I mean… what makes you say that, Kaa-san?"

"Well…" Mebuki started, holding out a finger in the process. "For starters, you used the smaller bowl to create a lover's chocolate, meaning you're faithful to one person." She extended a second finger. "Secondly, you used the Red Velvet frosting, and _only_ the Red Velvet frosting. Need I say more?"

Sakura somehow flushed an even deeper red at Mebuki's declarations. "I… I… um… IGOTTAGO!" she shouted before sprinting away.

Upon being left alone in the kitchen, Mebuki sighed in a maternal manner. "It's only a matter of time, Sayuri…" she said. Taking the time to head for her daughter's chocolate, she found a small piece of the candy to taste test, which she promptly ate in one bite.

It was only a second later when she started twitching from how the chocolate tasted. Another second went by before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell backwards, frothing at the mouth, at which point her husband showed up.

"Mebu-koi?" Haruno Kizashi popped his head in, only to see her on the ground, twitching and frothing all the while. "What _happened_ to you?!"

Without waiting for a response, he picked her up and rushed her to the ninja hospital, intent on saving her life… if it came down to that.

* * *

><p><em>With Shiori…<em>

"Sometimes, I wonder what it's like to be able to cook without blowing up the kitchen…" Shiori muttered to herself, even as she walked over to the Yukikaze compound. "I mean, it can't be a problem bound to me alone, can it?"

To understand the situation, a look at Shiori's latest attempt to cook would definitely suffice…

XxX

_A joyful Shiori was making chocolates for her sweetheart, even as she prepared the oven to accept her chocolates first and foremost. As soon as she put the cocoa into the mix, she stirred the mix, and then poured the chocolate into the different designed containers._

_"__It might be a bit on the awkward side for me, of all people to be giving him chocolate…" she hesitated for a moment before closing the oven door. "I just hope he accepts them…"_

_Just mere moments after she closed the oven door, she started walking out of the kitchen, only for a small ringing noise to reach her ears from the direction of the oven._

_"__It can't be ready this early, right…?" she whispered, turning back towards the oven and kneeling down to inspect it._

_At the moment she inspected it, the oven blew up, knocking her backwards and out of the kitchen._

XxX

With a heavy sigh, Shiori said, "Well, at least I know better than to let _that_ happen again…"

"Ara? What are you doing here, Shiori-chan?"

Looking up to the source of the voice, Shiori found herself blinking in surprise. "Oh, Setsuna-sama!" she exclaimed. "I have need of a kitchen in the clan compound… and my family's kitchen is unavailable."

"Una…vailable?" Setsuna mulled the thought over, before she ran a scrutinizing gaze over Shiori and flashed her Kakogan for a split second. "Ara… so that's why I saw black smoke coming from Kushi-chan's house…" she covered her mouth with a hand, resisting the urge to laugh at the young Uzumaki's culinary predicament and trying not to sound condescending.

"Um… if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to borrow the kitchen," Shiori said, hopeful that she'd get her request.

"Well, our kitchens are slightly occupied at the moment…" Setsuna looked back into the compound towards the main house where she knew her daughters were hard at work. "…but I think we do have room for one more. It's probably up to Hanami, Kagami and Fubuki as to whether or not you get to use it though. Well, it won't hurt to ask, will it?" she smiled back down at Shiori pitifully.

"Um… right," Shiori answered. "It definitely won't hurt to ask, that's for sure."

"Well then, let me show you in first, ufufufu~" Setsuna chuckled as she gently took Shiori's hand and led her into the compound.

"Th-Thank you very much…" Shiori said, blushing slightly.

"This isn't the first time you've been in here, right? We've hosted you girls and Naruto-kun over on occasions for studying time," the Yukikaze matriarch said as they passed by several smaller houses belonging to the lesser members of the family, heading towards the one in the very center of the compound.

"True…" Shiori said, before she looked down. "I just need to know how I'm supposed to cook for my sweetheart without causing a mess of things."

"Hanami can definitely help you with that," Setsuna agreed, patting the younger girl on the back softly in an attempt to pacify her. "I don't know how she does it, but she's managed to memorize every single recipe I know, and she's still learning more and even experimenting to create her own…"

Shiori blinked at that. "Thank you, Setsuna-sama," she finally said in a genuine manner.

"It's fine, it's fine, ufufufu~" Setsuna giggled as they arrived at the main house. "I'd better announce to the girls that we're here, otherwise you could get a concussion or worse from being in the kitchens too long with Hanami around…"

"Ah?" Shiori blinked in surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

"You've never seen Hanami in the kitchens before, right?" Setsuna paused halfway to the kitchen. "Home Economics class doesn't count, she's forced to hold back what she usually does in there. Well, I can show you, just don't go into the room until it's safe."

"Eh?" Shiori blinked in more surprise. "O…kay."

Leading Shiori further into the house to the kitchens, Setsuna laid a gentle, but firm hand on her shoulder just in front of the kitchen door to stop her. The Yukikaze matriarch smiled at her for a moment before pushing the door open and stepping in, almost immediately ducking under a flying… tub of batter?

"Whoa!" Shiori exclaimed upon seeing that. "That's Hanami-chan's cooking power?!"

Setsuna didn't respond as she snatched a knife that would have gone through her chest out of the air and sent it flying towards its original target without missing a beat, simultaneously tilting her head backwards to dodge a flying container of chocolate rice. She chuckled as she noticed Fubuki and Kagami working in the kitchen without a hint of fear, every now and then even grabbing flying items out of the air to use themselves as they worked on their own chocolate.

"Er…" Shiori said, having second thoughts about working in the kitchen with Hanami. "I don't want to desecrate Hanami-chan's skills in the kitchen… but I also don't want to leave the chocolate making to just _anyone_… this is a difficult situation!"

"Just ask Hanami herself then," Setsuna replied jovially, watching as a flying whisk landed perfectly in the tub of batter that had also managed to land perfectly on a counter without spilling a single bit. "Hanami, slow down…"

All the furor in the kitchen instantly stopped as the blue-eyed silverette turned around to look at her mother. "Ah, oka-san!" Hanami exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Well, you have a friend over who needs to use the kitchen…" Setsuna stepped aside, allowing Hanami to see the young redhead standing in the doorway.

"Ah, Shiori-chan! Did something happen? Why are you covered in soot?" Hanami asked, oblivious to the events that had led to the redhead being forced to come to the Yukikaze compound for help, and behaving as if she hadn't just been caught tossing ingredients and utensils clean across the kitchen with perfect accuracy.

"Um… well… about that…" Shiori answered hesitantly. "I need to make chocolate for someone I care about, not the friendship chocolate, the other kind… but, well, I accidentally ruined where I was working previously."

"Ruined?" Hanami narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she looked at Shiori, briefly flashing her Kakogan exactly like what her mother had done earlier. Almost immediately she gained a look of horror on her face and shut it down. "Ho-How could you! You need to clean the oven properly before you start, and all those other seasonings you used don't go with chocolate at all! No wonder that kind of accident happened!"

"Eh, what happened?" Kagami blinked in surprise at her twin's sudden outburst, before she turned around and used her Kakogan on Shiori as well. Barely half a second later, she was clutching her stomach with one hand and covering her mouth with the other as she resisted the urge to laugh, although she was failing quite badly at it as bouts of laughter kept escaping her.

"Um… does this mean I can't use the kitchen?" Shiori asked tentatively.

The temperature in the kitchen suddenly dropped several degrees as everyone's eyes were drawn towards Hanami. An aura of doom appeared around her, as she stared right at Shiori without blinking, shadows falling right over the top half of her face with only her glowing Kakogan visible in the darkness. "Desecrating our kitchen is… forbidden," she intoned.

"I'm _so _glad I'm not on the receiving end of that this time," Kagami shivered as she looked away.

Shiori, for her part, couldn't even move a muscle as she saw a Noh mask of doom float at her, about ready to devour her. When it was within two inches of her, she started backing away from the kitchen, always careful to keep two inches or more distance away from the mask, before her back hit the wall.

"It wouldn't do for you to desecrate any other kitchens as well though…" Hanami mused, still keeping up the intimidation. "I'll make an extra batch for you myself then."

"Er…" Shiori managed to let out. "Thanks?"

"Good!" Hanami beamed, completely dissipating the aura of doom and the trademark Yukikaze Noh mask in that instant. "Then just sit back and wait for a while, I'll finish it quickly!"

"That's my daughter, ufufufu~" Setsuna chuckled.

Shiori blinked. "Wait… when will the chocolate be done?" she asked.

"In about an hour!" Hanami replied as she got back to her cooking… starting by throwing another tub of batter across the room and almost hitting Shiori.

"Ack!" Shiori cried out as the tub almost hit her.

"It might be a good idea to get out of here before she starts ramping it up," Setsuna calmly laid a hand on the redhead's shoulder and looked towards the doorway.

"Oh, uh… right," Shiori nodded in acquiescence.

* * *

><p><em>With Hinata…<em>

Hinata was in the middle of making chocolates of her own, having managed to get lessons from one of the Branch family in how to make them, when she heard Hanabi knock at the kitchen door frame. "Onee-chan? What are you doing in here?"

"Uwaaah!" Hinata almost dropped the bowl of chocolate she was handling in her panic as she turned around to face her little sister, trying to hide it behind her. "Ha-Hanabi? What are _you_ doing here?" she gasped.

"I was hoping to get some cookies to eat," Hanabi answered. Upon seeing what her sister was holding through her Byakugan by sheer accident, she asked, "Why do you have a bowl of chocolate batter right behind your back?"

"W-Well, I'm making a chocolate cake!" Hinata hurriedly bluffed, although she knew it was a weak one considering there were no cake ingredients lying around the kitchen. She was hoping her little sister hadn't noticed that.

"Eto… where's the cake base?" Hanabi asked. "I thought you had to put the cake on a base before you put it in the oven?"

Hinata froze, feeling a thin sheet of ice cover her under her henge before she quickly broke out of it. "I-I-I haven't taken it out yet!" she quickly laid it on thicker.

"Okay," Hanabi said, as if she bought it. "Then I'll go get it for you." With that, she walked over to the cake base's location.

"Uwaaaaaaaah!" Hinata hurriedly set the batter down on the countertop and grabbed Hanabi's shoulder to stop her from going there. "Fine, fine, I'm making Valentine's chocolate!" she blurted out, casting furtive looks around to make sure no one was around to hear her.

"Eh? I thought you were making a chocolate cake?" Hanabi asked in confusion.

"Well… Hanabi, don't tell anyone about it!" Hinata glared at her little sister fiercely. "I'm trying to keep it a secret…"

Blinking, Hanabi asked, "You're making Valentine's chocolate for a boy in your class, aren't you?"

The snow fairy in disguise froze yet again, but stopped herself before the ice could start spreading to her hand. "Well… yeah…" she muttered, a little annoyed at being busted by her own little sister of all people.

"Is it Naruto-nii-chan?" Hanabi asked innocently.

Hinata stopped short for a few seconds this time as the little Hyuuga managed to hit the nail on the head. "A-A-A-A-As if I'd make any Va-Va-Valentine's choco-co-co-colate fo-for that guy!" she quickly blurted out, crossing her arms over her chest and letting out a huff, completely aware that her arms were trembling in her embarrassment at being caught out.

"Huh? What's wrong with Naruto-nii-chan?" Hanabi asked. "I think he'd make a great in-law… don't you?"

This time, the sheet of ice that covered Hinata was a lot thicker - almost enough for Hanabi to feel the momentary drop in temperature. "A-A-As if!" she quickly recomposed herself, not wanting to be found out too early. "He's loud… rude… caring… kind… responsible…"

…

Hinata hurriedly clapped her hands over her mouth before she could dig her own grave any further.

"Onee-chan? What's wrong?" Hanabi asked in confusion and concern.

"It's nothing!" the elder Hyuuga sister yelled, before grabbing hold of her little sister and shepherding her towards the door of the kitchen a little forcefully. "I need to focus on my cooking, so can you just leave me alone here for a while!?"

"But what about my cookies?" Hanabi asked.

Hinata grabbed the cookie jar from the counter as she passed it, pressed it into Hanabi's arms and pushed her out of the kitchen before slamming the door shut and locking it. With a sigh of relief, she slumped against the door, taking several deep breaths at the thought of her crush on Naruto being revealed…

…

"LIKE HELL I HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!" she vented, running over to the nearest counter and starting to bang her head on it.

"Thanks for the cookies, onee-chan!" Hanabi said through the locked door.

All that could be heard through the door was the sound of Hinata's forehead meeting the counter.

"Um… I'll be leaving you alone now, onee-chan!" Hanabi finished, even as she ran to her room.

* * *

><p><em>Uzumaki Clan Compound, Valentine's Day…<em>

"What's that loud racket outside…?" Naruto groaned, rolling in his bed.

As far as Naruto was concerned, it was unnatural to have to deal with this sort of racket at… he checked the alarm clock, and saw that it said 0530. Right, it was unnatural to have to deal with this sort of racket at 0530, regardless of who was responsible for this.

Deciding it was pointless to try and get any more sleep, he grudgingly climbed off the bed and got ready for the day. Running through his daily morning routine, his rebooting brain tried to figure out exactly why it was so noisy outside. As far as he knew, there weren't any major festivals happening that day that he knew of… unless his mother had introduced something new again like she had with Christmas.

His lips curled into a smile at the memories he had created that day, although he was still a little leery about what had happened to turn him back to his male form. Oh well, fun memories were fun memories. And he had fun as a girl while it lasted too, the only thing irritating him being the monthly thing all females had to go through. He did feel like he had become closer to his mother and friends over all that time too.

At about the time it hit 0600, he was fully ready for the day, bar having to eat breakfast. With a minor thought, he walked on over to the breakfast table, intent on setting it for himself… and found his mother sealing the door to the house from the inside.

Wait, _WHAT?!_

Even as Naruto stared agape at his mother, a small blue bundle of fur came racing down the stairs and over to the waiting dish beside the dining table, stopping only to stare curiously at the Uzumaki matriarch with her head cocked sideways.

"Mew?"

"Okaa-san?" Naruto asked. "Why are you sealing the way out?"

"More like I'm sealing the way in," Kushina grunted, gesturing at the window. "Take a look for yourself."

Naruto blinked, before he headed for the window to take a look for himself. Upon seeing the rabid horde of fangirls with chocolates, Naruto blanched. "How long has this been going on?" he asked.

"The alarm seals went off at 0430," Kushina groaned, smacking her forehead in exasperation. "I guess I haven't quite completely stamped out the fangirl population yet…"

"Um… o-kay," Naruto said, before turning to get some food from the kitchen. "What's the occasion?"

"You don't know?" Kushina blinked. "It's Valentine's Day, which I apparently introduced without noticing… Probably would've paid more attention to it had I known this would happen…"

Naruto stopped in mid-step upon hearing that. "Wait a minute… you started up _another_ holiday without realizing it?!" he yelled in surprise.

"This was the first one I started by accident…" Kushina blushed slightly at being called out by her son. "Christmas wasn't an accident!"

"I get that much, okaa-san," Naruto facepalmed. "However, I meant to put the emphasis on the word 'realizing', instead."

"And technically Valentine's Day isn't a holiday!" Kushina nitpicked, trying to draw attention off her failure. "You still need to go to class, although I'm hoping it isn't as mobbed by fangirls as our house is…"

"Yes, okaa-san, I'll go…" Naruto sighed.

At that point, Shiori appeared coming down the stairs, yawning widely and rubbing her eyes. "So noisy… can't sleep…" she grumbled.

"Morning, Shiori-nee," Naruto spoke up. "How was your sleep?"

"What do you think, with all the noise going on outside?" a grumpy Shiori grumbled as she took her seat at the table. "What's happening out there anyway?"

"Fangirls," Naruto and Kushina said at the same time, causing them both to blink and look at each other.

Shiori took a few seconds to digest the information, before she made the connection. "Oh," she simply said. "Valentine's Day."

"Yep," Naruto answered.

Shiori discreetly fingered the packet of chocolate she had hidden under her shirt, wondering if the person she was thinking of would accept it properly… although she still felt like it was cheating since she didn't make it herself. Ugh, it just wasn't fair how she had to be the worst at cooking in their age group!

"Now, if either of you have nothing else to do, I suggest you eat breakfast before it gets cold," Kushina said, getting Naruto and Shiori to eat their breakfast with gusto.

The two Uzumaki children nodded and began digging in to their oh-so-healthy breakfast - two bowls of steaming hot Uzumaki special breakfast ramen. Even though they still had no idea how their mother had managed to come up with the recipe in the first place.

* * *

><p><em>At the school…<em>

"Ano… where's Naruto-kun?" Suguha asked Hanami.

"Ah, er, what?" Hanami snapped out of the daydream she had been having and turned to Suguha with a confused look. "Did you say something?"

"I was just curious as to where Naruto-kun went…" Suguha repeated, somewhat oblivious to the daydream the silverette was having. "You wouldn't know, would you?"

"Nope," Hanami shook her head in thought as she stared at Naruto's empty seat. "Usually he isn't this late to class… I wonder if something happened?"

Suguha turned her attention away from Hanami by a small margin, before she stopped her motions. "Hanami-san… don't we sit on opposite sides of Naruto-kun?"

"Umm, yeah?" Hanami slowly nodded, wondering what the blonde fairy was going on about.

"Well…" Suguha said slowly. "Who are the _harlots_ that think they can score Naruto-kun with the huge pile of chocolates on his desk?"

Hanami blinked a few times and slowly turned to look at said pile of chocolate. "When did that get there…?" she muttered, an aura of doom forming around her as she glared at it.

"It was there since you walked in still daydreaming…" Fubuki pointed out in a deadpan tone.

Suguha sighed. "I just hope that the chocolates don't deter Naruto-kun from entering the room completely…"

"Well, it's definitely more meaningful to give them the chocolate in person, isn't it… Hanami?" Kagami smirked from the seat in front.

"O-Of course…" Hanami blushed, discreetly clutching a bag of chocolate under her desk.

At that moment, Naruto opened the classroom door, before he scanned the room around him. On noticing the chocolates on his desk, he blinked a few times, closed the door and could be heard running away.

"Ack!" Suguha, who was the only girl to notice Naruto, yelled. "Naruto-kun's run off!"

Suguha's loud yell sparked a loud commotion from the class next door, even as Kagami attempted to clamp a hand over her mouth. "Too late," the red-eyed silverette groaned. "Don't yell it out like that! Now even more people are likely to go chase after him…"

"Eheheheh… whoops?" Suguha weakly asked.

"That being said, let's wait out the chaos a bit longer," Kagami winked at the blonde fairy. "No one else in Konoha can track him as well as we can."

"Eh?" Suguha blinked in surprise. "How can you track Naruto-kun down that well?"

"How long do you think we've been friends with him?" Fubuki smiled. "We know _all _the places he goes to hide when stuff like this happens."

"Really?" Suguha asked, still in surprise.

Hanami nodded shyly even as she stood up. "I-I'm going to go find him… I-I-It wouldn't be good for him to… to…" she blushed as she attempted to come up with a suitable excuse to look for the wayward blonde. "…to miss class!"

At that moment, Hinata and Sakura entered the classroom, before looking at Naruto's empty seat and the desk right in front of it. "Oh, great…" Sakura facepalmed.

"That's… bad," Hinata's face darkened slightly, the air around her suddenly dropping several degrees in temperature for some unexplainable reason.

At this point, Yamiko and Mika entered the classroom from the outside door, before looking at the desk with a whole lot of chocolates on top of it. "Mika… isn't that where Naruto-san sits?"

"It is, Yamiko-sama," Mika confirmed with her usual blank, emotionless expression. "His chakra signature was last seen leaving the immediate area from there," she pointed outside the door where Naruto had stopped for a moment.

At that moment, Shiori walked on past Hinata, even as she asked, "H-H-Hey, anyone know where Naru… to… nii… went?" Upon seeing the desk of chocolates, she face faulted.

"Yeaaaaah…" Kagami casually waltzed over to Shiori and pulled her back up to her feet. "Shall we go look for your missing onii-chan, Shiori-chan?"

"Um… I guess, yeah," Shiori nodded dumbly.

"Wanna come along, Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan, Suguha-chan?" Fubuki asked as she walked to the front of her classroom as well, together with Hanami who was practically bouncing on her heels at the thought of finding Naruto alone to give her chocolate to.

"Oi!" Yamiko yelled from the outside door. "You forgetting someone?!"

The girls jumped at the sound of the blonde Uzushio princess' yell, before turning to look at her together, blinking in surprise.

"Yamiko-chan, don't tell me you also…" Hanami gaped, unable to quite finish her sentence as the thought of yet another girl in Naruto's posse flew through her head.

"If you mean it as 'you also have chocolates to give Naruto-san', then yes, I do," Yamiko said, before she received an elbow from Mika. "Oh, same as Mika, though I'm unsure why that is."

"Yamiko-sama, were you not supposed to keep it a secret until we actually gave them to him?" Mika said in her usual neutral tone, before continuing in a perfectly flat tone that carried no emotions, "This is embarrassing. Kyaaaan..."

Silence reigned supreme amongst the girls for about fifteen seconds. "Mika…" Yamiko finally said.

"Was that not socially appropriate, Yamiko-sama?" Mika replied, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"I thought your emotion modulator was supposed to start up by now?" Yamiko asked, with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Oh, I forgot about it," Mika blinked several times before her eyes turned white for a moment. "Rebooting."

At about that moment, Mika started sparking, before she fell to the ground back-first.

"MIKA!" Yamiko shouted in shock, before she rushed over to her creation and knelt beside her, holding her with her hands. "Mika! Are you alright?!"

"Owowowow… that hurt…" Mika groaned out loud as she reached up and started massaging her forehead. "Remind me never to do that again… wait, what was I doing again?"

Silence reigned supreme again, this time for five seconds. "Mika, do I need to do a diagnostic scan on you when we return to the lab?" Yamiko inquired.

"I'd rather you not do that anymore," Mika made a disgusted face. "Feels really weird having someone poking around in my brain like that.."

Yamiko blinked a few times, before she asked, "Did you… become human all of a sudden?"

Mika paused for a moment. "I… think I did?" she blinked in surprise. "Wow, this is really weird."

"Yeah, no kidding," Yamiko muttered in agreement. Shaking her head a bit, she turned her attention to the others and asked, "Well, who's ready to go after Naruto-san?"

Hanami shook herself out of her stupor at seeing the golem turn human, and quickly raised her hand. "Me!"

"Hypocritical honor student," Kagami smirked. "You say you don't want Naruto-kun to miss class, but you're going to miss class yourself anyway to go look for him…"

"I'll go look for him, too," Hinata spoke up. Upon seeing everyone look at her, she blinked a few times. "W-W-What? I-I-It's not that I l-l-like him or anything…!"

"She likes Naruto-kun," Fubuki rolled her eyes, easily reading the signs the Hyuuga heiress was showing.

"Do NOT!"

"Ano… I think we should _all_ look for him," Sakura spoke up, getting the attention brought to her. "Didn't we make chocolates for him for a reason?"

"Uwaaah, Naruto-kun sure seems to be building a harem, doesn't he?" Kagami chuckled, pulling out a bag of chocolates from behind her. "No point hiding it anymore, huh?"

"Er… much of that is not his fault?" Shiori blinked in confusion.

"Yeah, he just seems to attract us to him for some odd reason," Fubuki pointed out blandly, ignoring Hinata's stuttered protesting. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask… Who did you want to make chocolate for, Shiori-chan? I didn't know there was a guy you liked in the academy..."

Shiori blushed a deep crimson. "Eto… the chocolate's for nii-san," she admitted. "I mean… I've been having these weird dreams… they seem to say, 'go ahead with a relationship with him'... or something like that."

The other girls all stared agape at Shiori, while Hanami turned a crimson red. "W-W-W-Wait, isn't that incest!?" she gasped. "You're siblings!"

Shiori blushed slightly and started squirming. "I-I know it seems a little forbidden… but I don't know, it seems to feel more right with me the longer I think about it… I don't know why! I just can't think of myself with any other guy!"

"You had better talk to your okaa-san about it before you act on those feelings, Shiori-chan…" Kagami sighed, patting the redhead on the back softly. "Although that part about it being forbidden makes it sound more… exciting, ufufufu~"

"Um… would it be alright if I joined you girls on searching for Naruto-kun?"

The girls in the group looked in the direction of the speaker, showing it to be Mito.

"I thought your mother would have lifted the seal by now?" Hanami blinked, staring at the genderbent Uchiha in surprise.

"Er… about that," Mito laughed nervously. "I don't know how it happened, but okaa-san forgot how to lift the seal… and, well, I _like_ being a girl now…"

"Wow," Fubuki shook her head. "Never thought I'd see the day Uchiha Sasuke decided he liked being genderbent."

"It's _Mito_ now, Fubuki-chan," Mito corrected sternly. "_Sasuke_ died the day the seal went on."

"That's harsh," Kagami raised an eyebrow. "But anyway, you're welcome to join the search although I doubt we'll take more than half an hour to find him."

"That's fine, so long as we find him," Mito said with a nod.

"Don't tell me you have chocolate as well…" Hanami narrowed her eyes at Mito.

"Okay, I won't tell you," Mito answered.

"What a harem king Naruto-kun is turning out to be, ufufufu~" Kagami snickered after a quick flash of her Kakogan.

"See what I mean?" Mito asked rhetorically.

* * *

><p><em>With Naruto…<em>

Naruto, as it turned out, was at the one place anyone that knew him would go to look for him first… atop the Hokage Monument. Well, more specifically, on top of the mountain itself.

He had been lounging about on the mountain, mainly to get away from the need for Valentine's Day, but also to attempt to figure out how he was supposed to revert back to being Naru. It seemed to be a fool's errand, though, especially considering that it seemed like something was blocking the transformation back to being Naru. He didn't want to stay as he was currently, but he wasn't sure what the problem was, in that he was being blocked from reverting to his female side.

"See, I told you he'd be here!" a loud voice exclaimed.

"ACK!" Naruto nearly screamed out loud, taking a small bit of time to calm down. Upon fully calming down, he turned to look at the person who exclaimed the startling words…

Standing there behind him was a very familiar red-eyed girl with silver hair, posing with her hands on her hips and a triumphant look on her face. "I know you're scared of the girls, but you do realize you made us all worry for you?" she said as an entire group of girls arrived hot on her heels as well.

"Kagami-chan…" Naruto blinked in surprise, before he looked at the girls with her. "Wait… how come you brought the rest here? And _why_ did you bring Mito-san?"

"Like I said, we're all worried about you," Kagami sighed, walking over to Naruto casually and bopping him on the head lightly. "Dummy."

"Uwaaa!" Naruto flailed his arms around in a panic for a short bit. After calming down, he said, "Well… um… I'm sorry for worrying you… everyone. I just… needed time to calm down."

"Well, how about some chocolate to help you calm down?" Fubuki suggested bluntly.

Naruto blinked a few times, honestly confused by what Fubuki said, until it finally dawned on him. "Y-Y-You mean… You made chocolates for me, too?!"

"A-All of us girls did, Naruto-kun…" Hanami blushed.

Naruto sighed in defeat. "Well… alright, then," he said. "Who wants to do this first?"

The girls looked at each other anxiously, not one of them quite willing to take the first step. At least until Hanami stumbled out of the group. She turned around and shot a glare back towards Fubuki and Kagami, obviously the ones who had pushed her out. The two other Yukikaze sisters were whistling innocently as they hid their hands behind them.

"Um… how is this supposed to work?" Naruto asked, unaware of what he had gotten himself in this time.

Hanami blushed as she turned to look back in Naruto's general direction, although she wasn't quite able to make eye contact with the male blond. She slowly walked towards him as she pulled out the bag of chocolate she had hidden behind her. Once she closed in range, she took a deep breath and a resolute look appeared in her eyes before she wrapped her hands around Naruto and kissed him full on the lips.

Naruto felt his eyes widen upon receiving the kiss, completely caught off-guard by it for a few seconds, before he felt his body go on autopilot as he returned the kiss. As his tongue sought entrance in Hanami's mouth—

"O-Oi!" suddenly the two found themselves forced apart by a certain bluenette who was blushing almost as brightly as Hanami. And was that ice spreading across the ground under her? "Don't do that in public, it's shameless!"

"Uh, Hinata-san, this _isn't_ in public," Shiori countered, eyebrow raised at the ice spreading on the ground. "It's about as far removed from public as possible without going into someone's house."

Hinata blushed even more brightly as a result, although the ice spreading under her shattered and dissipated into thin air. "W-Well…" she couldn't refute that.

Hanami grumbled as she turned back towards Naruto and pressed her chocolate into his hand. "I… I made it myself!" she uttered as she withdrew back towards the other girls.

Blinking, Naruto unwrapped the chocolate and took a tentative bite out of it, suddenly being assaulted by the superb taste that came from Hanami's chocolate. After finishing eating the chocolate, he turned his attention towards Hanami and said, "You made a really great chocolate! Thank you, Hanami-chan!"

Hanami turned beet red, started stuttering for several moments before she abruptly passed out into her twin sister's waiting arms.

"Great, we can't top Hanami," Kagami groused, setting her blue-eyed twin down carefully off to the side.

"Eh?" Naruto asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"She's the best cook out of all of us. Now that I think about it I shouldn't have pushed her out first…" Kagami muttered, smacking her own forehead as she realized her blunder.

Shiori coughed into her hand, getting everyone else's attention. "Alright, I'll go next," she said, walking towards her brother. "Also, whoever is serious about being Naruto's lover has to do what Hanami did, in the same general order." When she reached Naruto, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as well.

"Forbidden love, ufufufu~" Kagami snickered.

Naruto's mind crashed down on seeing his sister kiss him, and it took its sweet time to reboot for him, while he acted on autopilot again. He returned the kiss as he found himself extremely attracted to Shiori, for some reason that was hard for him to explain, and started to push his tongue into her mouth—

"Enough!" Hinata once again pushed the two apart. "Y-Y-You two are siblings! Shouldn't you be ashamed of yourselves!?"

Naruto, while he couldn't think of a proper answer, at least had the decency to blush.

Shiori, on the other hand, turned to face Hinata and asked, "You missed what I said earlier, didn't you?"

"I know, but to have the audacity to k-k-k-kiss him on the spot like this…" the bluenette blushed even brighter, shuffling slightly as she gripped her own bag of chocolate tighter.

Shiori blinked a few times, before hanging her head low. "I didn't think this one through, did I?" she asked.

"B-B-Besides, it's not like I'm waiting for my turn or anything like that!" Hinata blurted out as she crossed her arms under her chest and turned away from the two.

Naruto blinked in confusion, before he turned to his sister again and asked, "Um… is there more to give?"

Shiori nodded slowly, holding out her own bag of chocolate for her brother to accept. "I-I put my heart into it!" she quickly added as an afterthought. Technically she wasn't wrong… that first batch that did have her heart in it just ended up blowing up the kitchen...

Naruto, oblivious to his sister's thoughts, took her bag of chocolate and bit into some of it. After finishing the chocolate off, he said, "Huh… this tastes quite like Hanami-chan's chocolate… no idea why."

Shiori ducked her head, saying nothing while she retreated back to the group of girls. Kagami and Fubuki held back their knowing chuckles.

"Um…" Naruto blinked at the chuckles. "What? What's so funny?"

"N-Nothing!" Kagami hurriedly shook her head.

"O-kay…" Naruto blinked, nonplussed at the reaction. "Um… anyone wish to go next?"

Hinata slowly stepped forward, blushing as she pulled her own bag of chocolate out of her clothes.

Coughing into her hand, Mito said, "Don't forget to kiss him."

"H-Hmph! As if I would…" Hinata scoffed, handing her chocolate to Naruto first, before abruptly pulling Naruto over to her and locking lips with him with barely a second of hesitation

Naruto's eyes widened at Hinata's kiss, even as the ice cold breath Hinata had pushed into his airways. After a second or two to register that Hinata kissed him, he pushed his tongue forward to seek entrance into her mouth.

"That's… bold," Mito noted, causing Hinata to jump away spluttering and blushing up a storm.

"Er… maybe we can finish this later?" Naruto asked Hinata.

"Y-Yeah…" Hinata momentarily shifted to her more _dere_ side to reply before she rejoined the other girls.

Naruto took that opportunity to eat Hinata's chocolates for him. When he finished eating them, he sincerely said, "Wow… I'm impressed by how well-made the chocolates are. I was wondering, though, how did you keep them cold? Well, either way, arigato."

"I-I didn't make them especially for you!" Hinata instantly went back into _tsun_ mode. "I just happened to make extra chocolate and didn't want to waste it!"

"Extra chocolate for _who_?" Mito asked, skeptical about Hinata's statements.

"A chocolate cake for my family members!" Hinata answered on autopilot.

"Uh… huh… I'll have to ask and confirm that later," Mito said, moving forward to Naruto as soon as she finished saying that.

"D-Do as you like!" the bluenette blurted out, not willing to give Mito any evidence as to the contrary so early.

Mito sighed, before she stopped just within Naruto's reach, leaning into him and locking lips with him.

Naruto's eyes widened when Mito kissed him, though it took less time for him to register that fact, instead opting to further the kiss with his former rival in pranking. Pushing his tongue up against Mito's lips, he signified that he sought entrance, something that was granted to him.

"Ah, no Frenching just yet!" Kagami exclaimed, bounding forward and pulling the two apart. "None of the others got to French Naruto-kun either!"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked in confusion. "What's wrong with what I was about to do?"

"Well, it's not fair to the others if you French kiss each other now, is it?" Kagami winked saucily, pulling Mito aside and stepping up in front of Naruto. "Considering Hanami, Shiori-chan and Hinata-chan all got theirs interrupted for one reason or another…"

"Er, Kagami-chan, I didn't give him my chocolate yet…" Mito pointed out.

"Then go ahead!" Kagami pushed Mito forward again. "I wanna give him mine too!"

Mito nodded, before she handed Naruto her chocolate. "Please… accept this, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked a few times, before he took Mito's chocolate and ate them. Blinking in surprise at the quality of the chocolate, he said, "Whoa! This is great chocolate, Mito-san!"

"Of course it's great, I made it myself!" Mito swelled with pride.

"So… what else do you wish to do?" Naruto asked Mito.

"Stop calling me -san, for one," Mito leaned in closer with a smile that spoke volumes about what she'd do if the male didn't comply.

Naruto blinked in surprise as he heard that. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Dead sure," the Uchiha nodded. "You can start by either dropping the honorifics entirely, or just call me Mito-chan."

Naruto weighed the options in his mind, before he came to a decision. "Alright," he nodded. "In exchange, though, drop the -kun with me… Mito."

"Fine by me, Naruto," Mito grasped Naruto's hand and forcefully shook it.

After the forced hand shake, Naruto fortunately had the presence of mind to say, "As an addendum, please drop the honorifics with me, everyone. It really won't be rude, alright?"

"Tell Hanami-nee yourself later, Naruto!" Fubuki bounced forward, carrying a bag of chocolate of her own.

Blinking, Naruto asked Fubuki, "Seriously? She's still not awake?"

Fubuki nodded, gesturing over at her older sister who was still passed out on the ground with a stupid grin on her face. "Well, I hope you like mine…" she blushed shyly, taking one step closer and handing over her own chocolate.

Naruto accepted the chocolate Fubuki had to give, before he looked at her somewhat expectantly.

A grinning Fubuki quickly hugged Naruto before standing on her tiptoes to deliver the final touch - a chaste kiss on the lips. She then backed off, her hands clasped behind her and her cheeks slightly flushed.

Blinking, Naruto opened the bag of chocolate from Fubuki and ate it, noting how it tasted like an inferno of chocolate in his mouth. "Fubuki-chan… this chocolate is _great_!"

"Well, it's probably not as good as Hanami-nee's one…" Fubuki blushed.

"No, seriously, it's really _great_!" Naruto insisted. "You deserve more credit than that!"

"But Hanami-nee's is probably way better than just _great_ right?" Fubuki pointed out.

"Actually, I'd say you're about equal with her," Naruto confessed. "I'm really serious about this, too, Fubuki-chan."

"W-Wait, really?" Fubuki's eyes widened as she looked hopefully at Naruto.

"Yes, really," Naruto nodded.

"But you forgot something…" Fubuki sighed.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"You dropped the honorifics with Mito-chan, so you need to do the same with us!" the younger silverette pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

Naruto blinked again, this time in understanding. "Oh… OH!" At that, he dropped to the ground on his hands and knees. "I'm sorry, Fubuki! I didn't know that was how it went!"

"Of course that's how it goes, Naruto!" Kagami grinned, stepping forward with her own bag of chocolate.

Naruto looked up at Kagami from his position on the ground. "Er… Kagami, you really want the marriage contract to go through?" he asked.

The red-eyed silverette shrugged, pulling Naruto up from the ground. "There's nothing really that wrong with it if both of us agree, right?" she winked, pressing herself against the male blonde and making sure that he could feel her developing assets through her blouse.

"Uh… no?" Naruto asked intelligently.

"I thought so!" Kagami chirped, opening her own bag of chocolate, putting a piece into her mouth before kissing Naruto. As she did, she made sure to push the chocolate into his mouth with her tongue sensually.

Naruto, upon feeling the chocolate go into his mouth, pushed it to one side of his mouth and started tongue wrestling with Kagami, catching her off-guard.

"Ah! She's Frenching him!" a very familiar bluenette with her hair worn in twintails shouted out, jumping in between them and pulling them apart.

"I thought we had an agreement not to French him…" Yamiko raised an eyebrow.

Naruto was in a bit of a daze before he turned to face Mika, who had separated he and Kagami, and asked, "Wait… what's with the display of emotion, Mika?"

"Well, stuff happened…" Mika chuckled sheepishly.

"Like what?" Naruto asked, honestly confused.

Mika looked expectantly at Yamiko for an explanation.

With a sigh, Yamiko answered, "She became human all of a sudden, Naruto… don't know how it happened, but it did."

"Oh… wait, what?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

"Yep!" Mika grinned, flashing a V sign in front of her right eye in a childish way. "Kagekiri Mika, at your service!"

Naruto blinked for a moment, before he smiled. "Well, that's good to know."

"Wait, Kagekiri?" Yamiko blinked in more than a little surprise, as her brain processed what the golem-turned-human had said.

Before Mika could explain her reasoning for using the family name 'Kagekiri', Naruto noticed that he still had more of Kagami's chocolate in hand, so he quickly ate the goodness that was the rest of Kagami's chocolate. "Mmmmmm! These are good!"

"I bet they tasted better after what I did earlier," Kagami giggled.

Naruto, after seeing the glares sent his way, wisely refrained from commenting.

"So who's going next?" Mika looked around the remaining girls - only Suguha, Yamiko, herself and Sakura were left still holding chocolate.

Suguha raised her hand and walked over to Naruto, holding her chocolate out for Naruto. "Eto… these are for you, Naruto," she said. At that moment, she leaned in to Naruto and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Harem king indeed, ufufufu~" Kagami snickered, making sure to be loud enough for said harem king to hear.

"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that, Kagami," Naruto deadpanned. As soon as he received the chocolates from Suguha, he started eating them, taking the time to enjoy the texture and the taste of the sweets.

"I was trying a recipe from my world, but I forgot some parts of it so I had to substitute them," Suguha blushed as she poked her fingers together sheepishly. "It… didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to, but I hope you like it…"

As soon as Naruto finished the chocolates, he said to Suguha, "Your chocolates are great! I can't _wait_ to see what the original version was like!"

"Ahahah… that'll only be after I can force myself to recall the exact ingredients…" Suguha blushed, looking away from Naruto in her embarrassment at being complimented so openly.

"Eh? Is that so?" Naruto blinked. "Well… don't go into extremes to recall the info, please."

"I'll just need to jog my memory a little, maybe experiment to find the right ingredients…" the blonde fairy chuckled, waving her hands in front of her. "Not like I can just magically remember it by bashing my head against a wall, right?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, you can't… and I doubt you'd want to, either."

"So now it's just Yamiko-chan, Mika-chan and Sakura-chan huh…" Kagami looked at the last remaining girls who still hadn't given their chocolate to Naruto yet.

Mika walked up to Naruto and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, before handing him the chocolate she had for him.

"Eh, I was supposed to go first!" Yamiko complained loudly, stamping her feet on the ground in a childish fit.

Blinking, Naruto asked, "Really? I didn't know that."

"We-Well, I did make her in the first place!" the former Uzushio princess grumbled.

Naruto blinked owlishly at that. "Well… perhaps next year?" he suggested.

"I can't wait for that!" Yamiko groaned as she sprang forward and tackled Naruto, almost making them both fall were if not for Naruto's quick bracing. She then quickly kissed him, pressed her chocolate into his hands before backing off quickly.

Naruto blinked again. "Um… thanks, Yamiko."

"I guess… I'm last?" Sakura tentatively stepped forward.

Naruto blinked at Sakura's actions, before he remembered something. "Um, could you hold on for a bit? I still haven't eaten the chocolate given to me by Mika and Yamiko yet."

"A-Alright…" Sakura nodded.

Naruto, for his part, looked at the chocolates in his hands and took Mika's out first. Upon taking a bite of it, he chewed and swallowed, before he suddenly found himself under a strange compulsion to finish the rest of the chocolate Mika provided speedily. Unable to resist the compulsion, he devoured Mika's chocolate, before he exclaimed, "This chocolate is _great_! Thanks, Mika!"

"…Mika, did you do something to the chocolate?" Yamiko raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Um… not that I can recall, Yamiko-nee," Mika shook her head as she answered honestly.

"Because I can see something funny on that chocolate…" Yamiko narrowed her eyes, staring at the empty packet of chocolate.

Mika blinked, turning her attention to the packet, before she felt the urge to facepalm. "Of course… I must have used something extra by mistake."

Yamiko smacked her forehead. "How do you accidentally add something extra when you made it as an emotionless golem!?"

"Honestly?" Mika asked a bit rhetorically while shaking her head. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Um, ladies, I'm gonna eat Yamiko's chocolates now…" Naruto said, getting the attention of those who loved him. Upon seeing their eyes on him, he exhaled a bit, took Yamiko's chocolate out of the bag, took a bite, and immediately paused in mid-chew. A few seconds later, he swallowed the morsel in his mouth. "Yamiko?" he asked.

"Y-Yes?" Yamiko shifted uncomfortably, wondering what Naruto was going to ask her about with no small amount of trepidation.

"What sort of science are you the best at?" Naruto continued.

"Um, chemistry?" Yamiko replied in confusion.

"That's got to be the reason why your chocolate is _amazing_!" Naruto grinned cheerfully at the last word.

"We-Well, I'm glad you like it…" Yamiko blushed.

Naruto's grin turned ecstatic at that. "You're welcome, Yamiko!"

"Umm… it's my turn now, right?" Sakura spoke up, getting everyone to look at her.

Naruto raised a finger in the air, before he finished eating Yamiko's chocolate completely. "Alright, ready when you are, Sakura," he said as soon as he finished and lowered his finger.

The pinkette blushed, stepping forward to face Naruto. Once they were close enough to touch, she took a deep breath before planting a quick chaste kiss on his lips. That done, she shyly gave him her chocolate.

Naruto unwrapped the chocolate and took a bite out of it, carefully chewing the chocolate, before he swallowed.

"Umm… I put my heart into it! I hope you like it…" Sakura said softly, squirming as she watched Naruto eat her chocolate.

As soon as Naruto heard the whole thing, he started twitching erratically, before he passed out, eyes rolled into his head and frothing at the mouth.

* * *

><p><em>Within Naruto's mindscape…<em>

The fox woman was sighing as she shook her head. "Of course," she said, face palming as soon as she finished shaking her head. "My host has a ridiculously high healing rate, but it's near-impossible to block out food poisoning of any sort, even if he has a healing rate of the Marvel insane man."

She paused for a moment as a helping of said chocolate appeared beside her in the mindscape. With a slightly green face, she pushed it aside and incinerated it in a ball of fire. "Are you _trying_ to _kill_ me!?" she hollered at no one in particular.

Before long, she sighed irritably, before she walked over to a new addition to the mindscape. "This had _better_ work…" she muttered, arriving at a vid-com panel, before she pushed the talk button. "Oi! You able to hear me?!"

There was a short ringing tone, before a response came back in the form of text on the screen. _'Sorry, but the person you're trying to call is currently unavailable. You may, however, leave a dream message for him. Do note that this feature is currently in testing, and dream messages may be… misinterpreted by the receiver. Press 1 to begin recording.'_

The fox woman stared in silence at the screen for about five seconds. "Oh, for the love of… _fine_!" she yelled out, before she started leaving the dream message. "Hello, kit, this is Yoko Kyubi, the fox inside your gut. I hope you can come to your mindscape to talk with me… I need to speak with you pronto."

XxX

"Ungh…" Naru(to) grunted in discomfort, before blinking a few times. "Wait… why am I in my female body?"

"Hello, kit," a sensual voice called out to her from the area around her feet, looking down she was greeted by the sight of a fox-like woman completely in the nude hovering around her waist with a sultry grin on her face.

Naru blinked a few times, before she realized two very important things. One, she was a few years older than she was initially, and two, she also was in the nude. Her current age had provided her with a very generous body, with F-cups and matching proportions, though she wasn't sure whether or not to appreciate that. "Um… who are you?" she asked at last.

"I'm Yoko Kyubi," the fox woman purred out. "The fox that wants to be… _inside _you."

Naru slowly nodded in acceptance, before she felt her eyes bug out as her mind caught up with the words spoken. "W-Well… i-is there any real reason to want that?" she asked. "I-I mean… I-I'm sure you can't really _be_ inside me…"

"Mm… there are more ways then you can imagine," she cooed, her breath ghosting along Naru's skin. "I need this… pronto."

Naru blinked again. "U-Um… not that I want to deny you your rights, but…" she trailed off, leaving the question of how they'd do it hanging.

Yoko chuckled sultrily as her hand slowly ghosted over Naru's stomach before coming to a rest, inches away from her bare pussy. "Why… here of course."

Naru, who had opened her mouth to ask a question, suddenly felt her body act strangely… as if she knew what to do to help Yoko out of this predicament. Instead of asking a question, she brought her arms up and wrapped them around the fox woman, dragging her down to the ground and pulling her into a french kiss.

The fox woman moaned into the kiss as their bodies rubbed against each other erotically, their breasts pressed against one another sending small jolts of pleasure down their spines. "Mm… tasty," Yoko gasped as they separated for air, a heady look on her face. "I wonder how it tastes down below?"

Naru grinned sultrily. "Who knows?" she asked, before she started positioning herself differently. "Why don't we find out from each other… together?" she finished positioning herself at that point, putting her face underneath Yoko's pussy and breathing into it.

The body that laid ontop of her shuddered as the warm air blew onto her pussy. "Agreed~" she cooed longingly before leaning down and running her tongue along the redhead's pussy.

"Ahn~" Naru moaned in pleasure, before she picked up the pace on her end, running her own tongue along the reddish orange-head's pussy and moistening it up.

Yoko let out a pleased moan as her entire body shuddered in arousal before probing her tongue in deeper into Naru's rapidly moistening pussy. "Yummy..."

Naru let out an erotic 'eep!' as she licked even further into Yoko's pussy, her tongue hitting a rather sensitive spot in the fox woman's inside. "You taste heavenly…"

Yoko let out a husky moan before she shifted her attentions to Naru's clit, taking it into her mouth and slowly suckling it in a teasing manner.

"Ahn~ D-Don't stop…" Naru gasped out, even as she continued to lick at Yoko's pussy more, before her hands discovered the fox woman's own clit and tails. Taking a hand to pinch the clit, she used her other hand to pet the tails erotically, one at a time.

"AH!" Yoko cried out in pleasure as her tails were handled. "Yes, my tails,"

Naru continued to handle Yoko's tails and even twist her clit, before she fully got her tongue to reach something of a wall inside the fox woman's pussy.

"Ohh, your tongue is so _deep_~" Yoko moaned before she reached for something off to the side before pulling her hand back, keeping the object hidden from Naru until she pressed it against Naru's pussy.

Naru blinked a few times upon feeling the object, before she looked down and gasped. "I-Is that… a dildo?" she asked in confusion.

"Yup~" Yoko informed as she slowly began to push it into Naru's pussy. "I'm taking your virginity~"

Naru blinked again, before asking, "Is this going to stick whenever I return to this body in the outside world?"

"This is all inside your head, so no," she informed.

Naru nodded at that. "Good…" she said, before she squeezed her eyes. "Bracing myself for impact!" she called out.

Yoko grinned before pushing it completely into her pussy, lapping up the juices and blood that spilled out around the dildo as she allowed Naru a moment to adjust.

Naru, as it turned out, had adjusted to it really fast as she moved her body up and down on the dildo. "N-Now… after I'm done… it's your turn," she warned Yoko.

"Oohh, fun," Yoko moaned as she pumped the dildo into her pussy as she continued to lick the juices being spilt out around it.

Naru was at her limit for this point, so she did what was natural for her… she screamed out, "I'M CUMMING!" As soon as she did so, a large amount of semen spilled out around the dildo, even as she entered an orgasmic high.

Yoko quickly lapped up the juices as they spilled out, slowly pulling the didlo out before licking it clean of any juices on it. "Mm… is it my turn yet?" she questioned as Naru came around.

"Yes…" Naru uttered, before she grabbed the dildo and rammed it into Yoko's pussy, hitting the cervix in one go.

"Ah!" Yoko yelped out as blood leaked out of her pussy, pain mixing with pleasure from the sudden penetration, making her moan loudly. "It hurts so _good~_"

"I'm glad…" Naru said serenely, even as she smiled with eyes closed, before she pulled Yoko in for a passionate kiss.

Yoko moaned into the kiss as Naru roughly maneuvered the dildo inside of her pussy, driving her wild from the mixed pleasure and pain.

Naru, for one reason or another, could tell when Yoko was about ready to let loose. "You know…" Naru started. "It's not so much a problem for you to let loose now, or ever."

Yoko moaned loudly as she slowly rotated herself so that she could bury her face into the mattress. "Please… spank me, be rougher…" she whined pleadingly.

Naru blinked for a bit, holding the dildo in place. "Are you sure?" she asked, before receiving a few nods. "Alright…" she finished, before she continued to thrust the dildo in and out of Yoko, using her other hand to spank Yoko as hard as possible.

Yoko let out a squeal as the hand impacted against her ass. "Ah… another please!" she begged, rolling her hips in an enticing manner.

Naru couldn't resist the fox woman, even as her hand impacted against Yoko's ass again. "How high can you count?" Naru asked all of a sudden.

"As high as you want me too," she informed, her body shuddering. "Do you want me to count… _mistress?_"

"Hmm… yes, _slave_," Naru answered. "Count to 10 without interrupting yourself, and start over whenever you mess up, understood?"

Yoko nodded. "Yes, mistress," she replied before yelping as Naru's hand impacted against her. "One, again, please mistress."

"Alright, slave," Naru nodded as she slapped Yoko's ass again.

"Twooooh," Yoko cried out, trailing off into a moan. "Punish me more, please, Mistress."

"Right," Naru said, spanking Yoko again.

"Three… more Mistress, please!"

Naru nodded wordlessly before she continued her task.

"Ahh!" Yoko cried out as she had a mini-gasm from the strike.

"Hmm… perhaps you need more… _punishment_," Naru suggested. "After all, you lost track of your spank count."

"I'm sorry mistress," Yoko moaned out. "Please punish this weak slave."

"Oh, you will be punished, _slave_," Naru stated, before smacking Yoko's ass again.

"I'm, sorry mistress!" Yoko cried out. "I'm just a slutty slave who loves being punished!"

Naru simply said, "Start counting again," before slapping Yoko's ass.

"One!" Yoko cried out, gleefully shaking her hips. "Mistress!"

Naru slapped Yoko's ass again. "Yes?"

"Two!" Yoko shouted. "Mistress… I… I'm going to cum again mistress!"

Naru blinked at that, before she shrugged. "I guess you'll have to count to three, then…" she said, before giving Yoko a resounding slap on her ass.

"ThreEEEEE!" Yoko shrieked out at the top of lungs as her pussy started to spray juices all over the place.

Naru simply smiled in pleasure at what she had done. "I'm about ready to retire for the evening, slave, so I'll see you later… alright?"

"Yes Mistress," Yoko panted. "I'll wait for the next time you honor me with a visit."

As soon as those words were uttered, Naru's vision swam with white, telling her she was about to wake up.

XxX

"Great… what a weird dream I had last night…" Naruto muttered when he started waking up. Upon starting to move out of the bed, he noticed two things. The first one was that he was in the hospital, while the second one was, well… "Wait, why is the inside of the bed sticky?"

Upon asking that question, his mother came into the room with Aoi in her arms, saying, "Naruto, I hope tha—" before she noticed the wet patch in the blankets. "Naruto, did you wet the bed by accident?"

XxX

Yoko let out a keening wail as a myriad of sensations and memories assaulted her of Naruto's dream, her entire body shaking as her pussy streamed out juices. "What… what the hell happened?" she asked in confusion. "How the hell did he interpret my message into _that?_"

'_And why did I like it so much?_'

* * *

><p><em>February 28th<em>

It was with a loud yawn that Naruto walked to class that day. "Man… what was up with the last two weeks? I swear, I never had such weird dreams in all my young life, and… why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?" he asked himself.

"You're missing meeting with your tenant, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto whirled to his right, where there was a slightly older-looking girl with pale blonde hair draped over her right shoulder and blue eyes in a white dress leaning against a wall. "Who are you?!" he demanded.

"My name is Naminé, Naruto-san," the girl said, getting up from leaning against the wall. "I am only here today to give you and your tenant a time to talk, nothing more than that."

"Me and my tenant?" Naruto blinked owlishly, before his eyes widened in shock. "H-How do you know about the fox in my gut!?"

Giggling, Naminé answered, "Truth be told, Naruto-san, it's a rather open secret in this village… one that's been safe from outsiders who don't know to ask." Walking over to Naruto, she said, "Not to worry, your secret is safe with me, Naruto-san."

"R-Right…" Naruto tentatively accepted the girl's explanation, but narrowed his eyes. "…but what do you mean I've been missing meeting with my tenant?"

Naminé raised a finger into the air, before an orb of darkness appeared above it, which grew to encompass both she and Naruto. "To answer your question properly, Naruto-san, I have a special ability to see the chains of people's memories and even fiddle with them," she answered, even as the darkness suddenly vanished to reveal that they'd somehow made it to a white room full of pictures. "Your tenant has been meaning to speak with you, as the roads of destiny have been telling me. It's only been now when I can get you alone that I can start telling you this."

Naruto blinked for a few moments as he took in his new surroundings. Each picture showed one of his memories - each happy moment he had, every sad moment, everything was there. They even moved whenever he looked at them... He blushed slightly when he spotted a picture that depicted one of his more recent… dreams. Wait a moment, that first one had the woman saying she was the fox in his gut… "You can't mean that…" Naruto turned towards Naminé, wide eyed.

Naminé nodded. "I do, actually," she answered. "Your tenant needs to talk with you, primarily to begin your training in more supernatural energies than Chakra… among other things."

"So the dreams were… her trying to talk to me? But she hasn't done anything to train me so far…" Naruto thought out loud, trying not to think about the… overly stimulating dreams.

Naminé simply handed Naruto a picture dated Christmas Eve, showing him what his tenant had done to start getting him to train in the supernatural arts. "I hope that helps, Naruto-san."

Naruto blinked for a few moments as he watched the memory. He chuckled slightly when he saw the woman trying to figure out how to work the computer, before he realized exactly what she was doing. "Ah, so that was her doing!?" he gasped.

"Yes, that's right," Naminé answered with a nod. "She's been looking out for your well-being, Naruto-san, in more ways than one."

"But what's with the… dreams I've been having lately?" Naruto was almost afraid to ask the big question that had been nagging at him for so long.

Naminé handed him another picture, this time from the moment he went unconscious on Valentine's Day. "I hope this one explains the issues involved, Naruto-san."

Naruto peered into the picture hesitantly. After a while of watching it, he slowly nodded in understanding. "Oh. So THAT'S what's really going on…"

"That would be correct, Naruto-san," Naminé nodded. "In short? You're better understanding what's going on… and you'll soon be ready to speak with your tenant." Walking towards the room's only doorway, she said, "Come to the door when you have finished reviewing the memories… I have so much to show you out here, Naruto-san, but _only_ if you want me to show you."

Naruto took a few more moments to survey the room and the memories on the walls, before walking over to one in particular, when he was originally playing out with Hanami, Kagami and Fubuki, when he was about ready to turn nine…

_Naruto was laughing as he ran down the streets with Hanami, Kagami and Fubuki, helping them get in some exercise by means of a game of tag. He had tagged Fubuki back at the Ninja Academy, promptly running away with Hanami and Kagami a few seconds behind him, before he decided that he would make it a race to the Ichiraku Ramen stand. As he raced over to the stand, he started calming down from his laughter, prompting him to look at his surroundings._

'Weird… I never thought I'd be in the merchant district alone…' _Naruto thought, mere moments before he ran into a wall with a loud crash._

_The blonde quickly found himself lying on the ground face-up as he fell backwards from his initial impact. After a while just lying there blinking the stars out of his vision, he quickly jumped to his feet and glared at the obstacle that had so rudely interrupted him._

_"__Ow… who put that wall there?" Naruto asked aloud, rubbing his nose in pain._

_"__Oh, sorry, Naruto-sama," a nearby merchant from Konoha apologized. "I should've been able to warn you that you were going to hit the village wall, if I noticed you were there."_

_"__I-It's okay… I'm at fault here for not paying attention…" Naruto groaned._

_The merchant handed Naruto a balm product. "Here ya go, Naruto-sama," he said. "This one's on me… it's a medical balm."_

_"__Thanks…" the blonde nodded gratefully, opening up the tin and applying some of it to his nose._

_"__You're welcome," the merchant said. "It's said to heal injuries at an amazing rate, which I've found to be true, primarily because of all the vitamins and such in the balm."_

_"__Really? That's useful!" Naruto exclaimed, already feeling the cooling effect the balm was having on him._

_The merchant nodded, before eying something out of the corner of his eyes. "I hope you don't mind helping me with selling the balm to other people in the village, Naruto-sama… I seem to be seeing potential customers."_

_"__Well, I suppose I should at least pay you back for giving it to me free," Naruto scratched his head even as he joined the man behind the counter. "What do I need to do?"_

_"__Simply tell the customers how effectively the balm works for you…" the merchant trailed off, before he realized something. "When used with your unnatural healing ability, anyway."_

_"__Alright!" Naruto chirped, a wide grin stretching across his face._

_As soon as the customers arrived at the shop, the merchant asked, "How might I be of service to you, fine customers?"_

_One of the customers, a young-looking man with dark brown hair and heterochromatic eyes (the left one blood red, the right one ocean blue), wearing a light brown hooded cloak with the hood down, walked up to the merchant and answered, "My friend and I are looking for some medical products, mainly to help bring a friend of ours back to full health… do you have any recommendations?"_

_"__Well, you've come to the right place!" the merchant exclaimed, holding up a different canister of the same medical balm he gave Naruto. "This medical balm here is potent enough to heal anything that goes down to the muscles, though it's unable to bring back the dead, which is not supposed to be the case with our culture to begin with." Placing the canister down, he gestured to Naruto, saying, "In fact, this young fella had crashed into the wall a short bit ago, but you wouldn't even begin to imagine that he was injured based on looks alone! It just so happens that he used the same balm to heal from his injury!"_

_"__Ehehehehehehehehe… I have a high healing rate, which this complemented," Naruto chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck, nervous all of a sudden._

_The male customer blinked in surprise, before he calmed down a fair bit. "Well… at the very least, you have a policy of being honest first and foremost, which I'm glad you have," he said, before he reached for a bag on his belt._

_The other customer, seeing what the man was about to do, undid the hood of her own cloak, revealing red hair and jade green eyes, and called out, "Wait, Pierre! Don't give him the suggested price in coins!"_

_Blinking, the now-identified Pierre looked at the bag his hand was reaching for, before he pulled out only one coin… a gold coin at that. Turning his attention back to the shop owner, he placed the coin down on the counter and asked, "Will this do for the price of the medical balm?"_

_Blinking at this sudden turn of events, the merchant took the gold coin into his hand and started to look it over. "Tell me," he started. "Where did you come across this coin?"_

_"__It's the common currency back home," Pierre explained. "There's plenty more where it came from, I assure you."_

_With a sigh, the merchant said, "This coin's worth enough to pay for 15 packs of three medical balms… please don't deflate the economy because you have more gold coins on hand."_

_Pierre nodded, even as he received the packs of medical balms. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said, before walking over to the residential block with his friend._

Naruto blinked in surprise as his conscious thoughts returned to the present time.

"Don't you have class to attend?" Naminé giggled. "Yes, time passes slower here, but it doesn't completely stop. You'd better hurry up…"

Blinking again, Naruto looked around, before he saw that the room was fading to black around him. "ACK! I'm hurrying!" he exclaimed as he rushed towards the doorway. Once he made it to the door, he started to fade away from that area, prompting him to yell, "What gives?!"

"Sorry… it seems like time's up for today, Naruto-san," Naminé spoke up. "I'll be sure to help you with meeting your tenant later… we'll definitely meet again. I promise."

With that, Naruto fully left the world he was in, putting him…

"Naruto! How did you get here all of a sudden?!"

…right at his seat in class mere moments before the bell rang.

* * *

><p><em>March 14th<em>

"Alright, I managed to get the presents for everyone but Sakura by now," Naruto said to himself as he gathered everything he could for White Day. "Now I have to wait for Sakura's gift to finish completing itself… I hope that she can appreciate it."

At that point, there was a knock at his bedroom door. "Naruto, Hanami and the others are here!" Shiori called out from the other side of his door.

Naruto blinked at that, before he walked to the door and opened it. "Eto… could you please stall them while I finish getting Sakura's ready?" he asked.

"Getting Sakura's ready?" Shiori blinked. "Oh, alright."

"Thanks, Shiori," Naruto sighed in relief. "Now… how do I get the other gifts out there myself?"

"Why don't you just use your Kage Bunshin to help you get everything out?" an unfamiliar, oddly cheerful voice spoke up, coming from somewhere in the room.

Blinking in unison, Naruto and Shiori looked at each other, before looking at the corner of the room that the voice came from. "Is that…" Naruto started.

"…a talking toy hammer?" Shiori finished.

"How rude! I'll have you know that I'm not just any toy hammer, I'm the legendary pico-pico hammer!" said toy hammer yelled in a fit, a tick mark somehow appearing on its head complete with puffs of steam as it hopped up and down. "I said don't call me a toy hammer, stupid authors!"

"Er… what are you _talking_ about?" Naruto questioned the hammer. "What authors?"

Shiori looked at the hammer and asked, "Are you _sure_ you're legendary?"

"Of course I'm legendary! What kind of normal weapon would even be talking to you guys like this?" the hammer shot back, bouncing up and down.

"You didn't answer my question, though…" Naruto pointed out. "What authors, 'legendary' hammer?"

"Of course, I mean the guys sitting in front of their computer screens actually writing this story out!" the hammer preened at being called 'legendary'. "Don't put the word legendary in air quotes, dammit authors!"

Naruto and Shiori blinked again. "Um… is this hammer something created by the Sage?" Shiori asked her brother.

"Haha! I was created by what technically amounts to a Sage!" the hammer kept bouncing up and down. "Zel-Zel is the greatest in the multiverse!"

Naruto facepalmed. "What sort of mother names their child 'Zel-Zel'?" he asked rhetorically.

"His real name is too long for you to remember, so I'm just shortening it to Zel-Zel for now!" the hammer replied.

XxX

Meanwhile, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg sneezed, just as he was about to make a cup of tea. "Who's talking about me behind my back?" he asked incredulously.

XxX

"Um… what sort of person is this 'Zel-Zel'?" Shiori asked the hammer.

"Oh, he's a vampire. And he loves trolling people," the hammer somehow _wiggled _its head with a degree of flexibility a normal hammer should not possess. "Say, want to become a magical girl?"

Before Naruto could open his mouth, Shiori blanched. "Wh-Wh-Why would you be concerned about whether or not I want to be a magical girl?!" she raised her voice in shock and surprise, though mostly shock.

"Well, let's just say… as a magical girl, you of course get to use magic!" the hammer shook as if giggling. "And you get to use magic to do all kinds of things, like complete your homework on time at the last minute, cheat on tests, and make people fall in love with you!"

Naruto blinked at the abilities the hammer mentioned. "Er… are you able to make a guy a girl permanently?" he asked.

"Of course!" the hammer replied, before it bounced over to Naruto, somehow managing to pat him on the shoulder. "You'll make a fine magical girl, muahahaha!"

***THWACK!***

"OUCH!" Naruto exclaimed as he held his forehead in pain, Shiori blocking the hammer from Naruto's reach.

"If you so much as touch Naruto again… you won't be able to do a single _thing_ you were made to do!" Shiori threatened the hammer.

"Gyaaaaaah! Scary! You're almost as scary as that tsundere twintailed girl Ruby-chan has to deal with!" the hammer hurriedly backed off into the corner it had come from.

"Shiori, isn't this a bit much?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's not, Naruto!" Shiori answered. "You are _not_ to become Naru again!"

"Well, I could always make the change temporary…" the hammer leaned towards the two siblings once again.

"NO!" Shiori yelled in defiance. "Naruto is meant to be a boy, _not_ a girl!"

"What's with all the commotion going on up here?" a red-eyed silverette bounced into the room, before stopping short and staring at the bouncing hammer. "Er, Naruto, since when did that toy hammer you brought back from the hospital have a mind of its own?"

"I think since forever…" Naruto answered with a depressed aura around him.

"I am NOT a toy hammer!" the hammer yelled. "I am the legendary pico-pico hammer! How many times do I have to repeat myself!?"

"Naruto was asking to be made back to being Naru…" Shiori pointed out. "I had to stop that nonsense before anything bad could happen."

"Eh!? Naruto, how could you…" Hanami suddenly appeared in the room, tugging at Naruto's sleeve while her eyes teared up slightly.

"Uh…" Naruto tried to answer intelligently, only to come up short when it turned out he had no way to answer that.

"That's right, how could you go back into girl form on us after so long!?" even Fubuki made her appearance, looking up at Naruto through the infamous female technique known to have an almost 100% success rate.

Naruto blinked a couple dozen times, before he remembered something. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed. "I have to give you your White Day presents!"

"…Did Naruto just shrug off the Puppy Eyes no Jutsu?" Hinata blinked as she walked into the room.

"Actually, no," Naruto answered. "I was affected by it, just in a different way." At that point, he walked over to the bed where the presents were located. Upon taking a gift off the bed, he walked over to Hanami and said, "For you, Hanami."

"E-Eh, really!?" Hanami blushed, as she accepted the gift. "T-Thanks, Naruto…" she smiled serenely, before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek as a show of thanks.

"You're welcome," Naruto answered, before a thought occurred to him. "Why don't you open it up?"

"Okay…" Hanami gently and meticulously unwrapped the gift, making sure the paper wasn't damaged in the process. It took her a while before a large book was resting in her hands. "W-Western cooking? Naruto, how long did it take you to find this?" she gasped.

Blinking, Naruto answered, "I found it after a week of searching… I wasn't allowed to leave Konoha to get the cookbook, but I could find a way to locate the book, which was in Kumo of all places…"

"That sounds harsh…" Yamiko muttered, entering Naruto's room with a bouncing Mika following behind. "How did you even manage to get it shipped over here? Kushina still hates Kumo's guts, even back from before I went into cold sleep."

"Simple… okaa-san put leverage against Kumo to get them to ship the book over," Naruto answered, shuddering as he did so.

"Oh," Yamiko blinked, before she nodded sagely. "She still has it in her, doesn't she? The Kyuubi's aura."

"Actually, it wasn't the aura of the Kyuubi no Youko," Naruto replied. "She used something even scarier… blackmail."

"Well, it's hard for something that's been in her that long to not leave a trace anyway…" Mika chuckled, her arms behind her head. "She definitely used some of it as well."

"Politics… sound dangerous," Sakura spoke up timidly.

Naruto blinked. "Um… everyone?" he spoke up again.

"Yeah, Naruto?" Mito asked from somewhere in the back of the room.

"OUT!" Naruto cried out. "My room's getting too crowded for everyone to be in here!"

"Kyaa~ Naruto is so rough~" Kagami laughed as Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders and started pushing her out of the room firmly, but gently.

"Everyone, please wait in the living room for the rest of the gifts!" Naruto said as soon as he got the girls out of his room.

"I'm being ignored…" the talking hammer had squirreled itself away in a corner and was bent as if moping.

* * *

><p><em>A short bit later…<em>

"Alright, ladies," Naruto said, having made his way to the living room. "I brought the rest of the gifts, so be ready for anything."

"Not fair how Hanami got hers first," Mito grumbled, looking at the blue-eyed silverette who was apparently off in her own little happy world, hugging the cookbook she had just received.

Naruto sighed a bit. "I'm doing this in order of who gave me chocolate first, Mito," he said. "Now… next is… Shiori."

"O-Oh, right," Shiori swallowed as she stepped forward to receive her present.

Naruto handed her a present, before he gave her a chaste kiss on her lips. "This might make you really happy, Shiori," Naruto said.

"Huh?" Shiori blinked, blushing slightly as she weighed the present in her hands and tried to figure out what it was from the shape of the packaging - it was a very irregular shape, so she didn't quite know what to expect.

"Well?" Naruto prompted her. "Aren't you gonna open it?"

Shiori nodded slowly even as she began to rip apart the packaging. She stopped and blinked a few times when she saw what appeared to be a patch of red fur showing, before she sped up. A minute later, she was cuddling into a Kyuubi plushie. "I don't know why, but I like this!" she declared.

Naruto nodded gratefully. "Next… Hinata," he said, getting the Hyuuga's attention.

Hinata nodded, stepping forward and accepting a spherical gift from Naruto. It took her only a few seconds to figure it out, even without opening it. "You got me a snowglobe?" she giggled. It was so fitting, even if he still didn't know she was a snow fairy...

"Yes," Naruto answered, happy that Hinata was happy. "Now… next on the list… Mito."

The dark-haired Uchiha nodded, skipping forward. This time, the cylinder Naruto held out was unmistakable, especially when Mito shook it and heard a soft rattling inside. "A jutsu scroll!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Not just any jutsu scroll…" Naruto said. "Want to find out what's inside?"

Mito grinned, tearing the wrapping away before tipping the scroll container over to allow the scroll inside to slide out into her hands. The scroll wrap was embossed with a symbol that she easily recognized. "Lightning jutsu!" she squealed as she glomped Naruto. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"She's completely not behaving like Sasuke used to," Fubuki remarked.

"Can't… breathe… need… air…!" Naruto gasped out.

"S-Sorry!" Mito quickly backed off before she could accidentally kill Naruto.

Naruto coughed for a bit, trying to get air back in his lungs, before he said, "Next is Fubuki… here's your gift!"

Fubuki grinned as she got up to Naruto, before receiving her gift. "Hmm… feels like a book, but not sure which one," she mused, before ripping off the wrapping paper. "What… could… it… The Tales of the Gutsy Ninja by Jiraiya?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah…" Naruto answered, scratching the back of his neck. "Well… to be fair, this came out before his porn books did."

Fubuki handed the book to Kagami for a bit, before she tackled Naruto and frenched him. As soon as she finished that, she released her mouth from Naruto's and said, "Thank you… I mean it."

"Y… Yeah," Naruto got out, before Fubuki let go of him to let the others get their gifts. "Alright… Kagami's turn."

When Kagami handed back Fubuki's gift, she got up and walked over to Naruto, before saying, "Hmm… what did you get me?"

Naruto handed her a small box. "Well… why don't you open this to find out?" he asked.

Blinking, Kagami undid the wrapping paper, revealing… "A jewelry box?" she asked. Opening the box, she saw a diamond necklace, causing her to gasp. "Naruto! How did you get the money to acquire this?"

"Er… it was discounted for me by a merchant who was travelling through the area," Naruto answered, trying to remember the specifics of that meeting and failing.

"Naruto… this is a Forever Necklace!" Kagami exclaimed. "I… I'm so happy!"

Chuckling at that, Naruto said, "Now… I think Suguha's going to appreciate this next gift."

Suguha walked up to Naruto, even as Kagami put the necklace around her neck and walked back to her seat. "What could it be, Naruto?" she asked him.

Naruto brought out a different cylinder in wrapping paper, one that was long enough to hold a training sword at least, and gave it to her. "You told me you were a Kendoka, right?" he asked.

Blinking, Suguha unwrapped the cylinder and opened it. "A shinai?!" she blinked in surprise.

"Not just any shinai," Naruto said, getting her attention. "This is a custom-made shinai that can turn into a katana when swung with the right speed… for on the off-chance you get yourself in a combat situation."

Suguha wrapped her arms around Naruto at that, sobbing into his shoulder. "Thank you, Naruto…" she said. "I have to honor grandfather's request… and now I can. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Suguha," Naruto said. Upon being released from Suguha's hug, he turned his attention to Mika and said, "It's your turn now."

Mika got up from her seat and walked timidly over to Naruto, who had gotten her gift out from the collection of gifts left. "So… what is it that you could have given me, Naruto?" she asked, unsure what she was about to receive.

Naruto gave her the gift cheerfully, telling her, "I'm sure you'll have need for this soon enough, Mika."

"Why is it so oddly-shaped?" Mika remarked, accepting her present - a long rectangular box. With a short look at Naruto, she opened it, blinking when it revealed a pair of… katana hilts, missing the blades. "Naruto, I'm not a blacksmith, I can't make use of this…" she looked back at Naruto sadly.

"Mika, those are experimental weapons I requisitioned from the R&D boys," Naruto explained. "They _make_ their own blades, these hilts, with the use of chakra and a command phrase."

"What's the command phrase?" Mika blinked as she took one of the blades and held it in an Iaido stance, her left hand gripping an imaginary sheath as her right hand held the katana hilt to it, before she swung as if drawing it. "Something cheesy like 'battou'?"

At that moment, the hilt sparked and a blade of glowing blue chakra expanded from it where the blade usually would be. It extended from the base of the hilt to a bit over a meter out, though it fortunately didn't even touch Naruto as Mika finished the 'drawing' motion.

"Yeeep!" Mika yelped, dropping the blade in shock. Before it could stick itself in the ground though, the blade dissipated into thin air.

Naruto blinked. "Wow… how'd you guess the correct phrase and motion required to use it?"

"Eheheheh, woman's intuition?" Mika chuckled sheepishly, as she picked up the hilt again.

"Well… that makes sense," Naruto said, scratching the back of his neck. "Er… Yamiko? Your turn."

"I don't know… there's not really a lot that I feel like I need right now," Yamiko sighed as she stepped forward.

Naruto picked up her gift and handed it to her. "Here, something else I requisitioned from the R&D boys," he said. "Plus, well, something I had found on sale at the book store."

Yamiko nodded, accepting the large box and opening up. She blinked slightly when she found two more boxes inside, one a small but rather thick rectangular shape, and the other a flat one, looking like it contained a book. She decided to open the first box and received a rather pleasant surprise when she found a flat black slab of metal with a screen on top and a few buttons lining the sides.

"I haven't seen anything like this before, what is it?" Yamiko asked in curiosity.

"It's a variety of cellular phone called a smartphone," Naruto answered. "Technically, it's supposed to be released in another month, along with the other, lesser quality smartphones… I had R&D make one especially for you and one for myself, on the off-chance we need to speak, but you're not around to answer the door for some reason."

Yamiko examined the smartphone for several moments with a smile, before she put it back into its box, deciding to read through the instruction manual later. After that, she pulled out the second box and opened it, gasping in surprise when she found a blue-coloured book with a cover decorated with inlaid golden patterns inside that simply exuded power and a sense of mystery.

"And that is the Azure Grimoire," Naruto said, pointing at the book. "It is said to hold the power of the Boundary… well, not sure what the Boundary is or if that's even accurate, but it's something many people would love to get their hands on."

XxX

"Now then… where did I put that Azure Grimoire of mine? I know I left it around here somewhere…" a green haired man with yellow eyes, in a gray business suit with matching hat, muttered idly as he combed through his library of books and other materials. Upon finishing looking and turning up nothing… "Someone must have stolen it from me!"

XxX

In an alternate universe from the origin of the Azure Grimoire, a twin-tailed Tsundere sneezed. "Okay, who's talking about me behind my back?!" she snapped… in the middle of homeroom. "Oops…?"

XxX

"Where… where in the world did you get this, Naruto? This isn't just any book you'd usually find in a bookstore!" Yamiko gasped, waving the book around.

Naruto blinked, before he chuckled nervously. "Believe me, Yamiko… it was on sale at the regular bookstore, not a different bookstore," he answered as he scratched his neck.

"I'm finding that a little hard to believe, but okay…" the blonde muttered, staring at the book in awe. After she managed to digest the fact that she was holding on to what was possibly one of the most legendary tomes in existence, she beamed and glomped Naruto without any warning whatsoever. "Thank you so much! This is priceless!"

"ACK!" Naruto got out, just as he and Yamiko hit the floor. "Owww… that hurt."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Yamiko was so elated that she barely registered the pain from hitting the ground, instead choosing to kiss her fellow blonde on the cheek several times over.

"Y-You're welcome, Yamiko," Naruto said, trying to get over the shock of being glomped to the ground and the pain in the back of his head.

"Yamiko, you're not allowed to monopolize him!" Kagami groaned, running forward and forcefully pulling the blonde Uzushio princess off their shared boyfriend.

"I-It's not like I'm jealous or anything…" Hinata grumbled, a thin sheet of ice spreading beneath her feet.

"Um…" Sakura blinked a bit, realizing something was off. "Why did I count one missing?"

Naruto blinked, before he got up to his feet in a hurry. "Uh-oh… I didn't check to see if the last gift was done yet!" he exclaimed. As that was done, he rushed over to his room, the others blinking in surprise about his sudden departure.

"What do you think that was about?" Fubuki asked curiously.

Shiori, upon seeing looks sent her way, simply shrugged. "I'm afraid I know nothing on this one… sorry."

"Oho? It's so secretive even his own sister knows nothing about it?" Kagami snickered. "Interesting…"

A loud cry of "JACKPOT!" was heard from Naruto's room, followed shortly by Naruto rushing down the stairs and towards the living room. "Sakura, here you go!" he declared, handing her a CD case containing a CD with the words "Music Compilation from Uzumaki Naruto" on it.

"W-What's this?" the pinkette tentatively accepted the case, looking at Naruto for an explanation.

"It's a compilation of all the music you like to sing to, based on what I've heard whenever you were around," he explained. "I felt that, since you loved those songs, I should give you a copy of each one to sing along to."

"Eh!? But it must've taken you a lot of time to identify each song…" Sakura gasped out loud, staring at the disc incredulously.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Well… believe me, it wasn't easy to get all the songs found," he said with a nervous chuckle. "However, I did find them all, so there's that."

"You… you went to all that trouble just for me…" Sakura began tearing up slightly, even as she approached Naruto with shaky legs.

Naruto walked over to Sakura, before putting her in a gentle embrace. "There, there…" he said, even as he rubbed her back. "I'll be there for you, no matter what."

"Th-Th-Thank you, Naruto…" the pinkette let her feelings loose as she started to sob into the crook of his neck. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome…" Naruto said.

"Oi, oi, you're forgetting about all your other friends on the sideline here," Kagami couldn't resist letting out a chuckle, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around the both of them.

"F-Friends?" Sakura sniffed.

"Yup, friends. We'll all be here whenever you need us," Yamiko nodded, even as she tucked her newly acquired grimoire into a seal and joined the group hug.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at the explanation to the issue at hand, though his smile was soon replaced by a frown, especially when he started seeing hints of something… ethereal, or something like that. He didn't know the right word, so that was what he had to go on. All he knew was that it focused on Sakura, especially given the air of ethereal beauty that seemed to be involved, if he was to put a name on it.

"No matter what happens to you, we'll help you out of it for sure," Hanami agreed.

Naruto's frown immediately replaced itself with a smile, pushing the extra thoughts to the back burner, although… he wasn't really able to do so successfully.

_'__Is it just me… or is this time of peace going to shatter in an unprecedented manner?'_ he thought, worry creeping into his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: *looks at calendar* …<strong>

***looks at start time* Not again! Why do I have the feeling that this took too long?**

**…****meh, oh well, no use crying over spilt milk. Ryu, take it away with your notes, please.**

* * *

><p><strong>DragonKnightRyu: You're welcome for the Smut, thank you for choosing DragonKnightRyu as your smut provider, providing smut for years and fulfilling your perversities, you perverts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Xamusel: Now… Astral? Your turn.<strong>

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><p><strong>AstralXYZ: Is it just me or do our chapters keep getting longer and longer? I hope this isn't too big an issue, although it does seem to mean they're getting rolled out a bit slower than usual.<strong>

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><p><strong>Xamusel: Now… for those of you who want to see the next chapter as soon as possible, we'll be working on it right away, so, please, keep reading and reviewing as much as possible. We thrive on reviews (as long as they're not poisonous reviews… *shudders*).<strong>

**Oh, right, this was definitely in time for Valentine's Day (being released on the Sixth of February)... and especially in time for White Day (even though I'm American, Ryu's Canadian, and Astral's from Malaysia). Now, though, we'll need to hurry the next chapter up… want to make sure it's in time for the end of the month at the earliest.**

**Please make sure to leave some questions for us to answer!**


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